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HARRY WARNECKE (1900-1984) Group of approx. 50 commercial color photographs of cultural icons, including Hollywood celebrities, star at

HARRY WARNECKE (1900-1984)
Group of approx. 50 commercial color photographs of cultural icons, including Hollywood celebrities, star athletes, politicians, and outdoor celebratory scenes. This group is credited to Harry Warnecke and his associates at the Daily News, who created brilliant portraits for the newspaper's Sunday News magazine. Much of the group is comprised of portraits of movie stars (Gregory Peck, Rosemary Clooney, Fred Astaire, Jack Lemmon, Joan Crawford, William Holder, Danny Kaye, Kirk Douglas, and others) and other entertainment celebrities (Ed Sullivan and Abbott & Costello). Also featured are portraits of athletes (4: the baseball player Hank Greenberg, Glenn Davis, Ted Williams of the Boston Red Sox, and Joe Medwick) and politicians (7: interestingly, a copy of an Abraham Lincoln portrait, as well as President Roosevelt and then General Eisenhower). The collection includes some candid or editorial imagery as well, including the National Diving champion swan diving (Florida) off a high diving board, a trio water skiing in Florida, the Festival of States (Florida) parade, Santa Claus on 42nd Street in New York, a Palm Beach beach scene, the Jupiter Lighthouse (Palm Beach), and two Navy images. Tri-color carbo prints, the images measuring 16¾x13 inches (42.5x33 cm.), and smaller, and the reverse, most of the sheets slightly larger, 13 mounted or in period mats, many with the subject's name or a caption and some with Warnecke's (and his associates') credit and a date in ink or pencil. 1930s-50s

Provenance: The Estate of Richard T. Rosenthal, Philadelphia

Harry Warnecke's vivid color photographs are as arresting now as they were to consumers of The New York Daily News' Sunday Magazine at the time, color photography being essentially unheard of in publications' pages. A laborious undertaking, the tri-color carbo process meant simultaneously exposing three negatives through different color filters. Warnecke (who worked alongside Robert F. Cranston and Gus Schoenbachler) designed and built a one-shot camera of his own, creating portraits that were vibrant and vivid both in tone and mood.

For additional images please follow the link below:
http://www.swanngalleries.com/ms/Sale2627/lot212

  • Condition: This group of brilliantly-rendered tri-color carbo prints are in overall very good condition. As is expected of this rare and complex printing process, the color is vivid, consistent, and jewel-like in presentation. This diverse and dynamic group of portraits and other scenes represent the groundbreaking work of Warnecke and his studio in absolute and beautiful terms.

    Overall the surfaces of the prints are clean and bright. Some of the prints evidence areas of retouching, but this is only visible upon close inspection or in strong, raking light. A few of the images show unobtrusive handling creases, but this is generally confined to the edges and is not immediately visible or obtrusive. Overall the prints present as exceptionally neat given their newsroom provenance.

    Many of the unmounted prints appear to have been previously mounted, with light surface abrasions on verso, and remnants of dry mounting tissue, or full sheets of dry mount tissue, on verso. Occasionally there is also some residue in the margins on recto. Even more occasionally this residue in the margins has migrated slightly into the image area. But, the shiny resisue is usually not at all obtrusive and does not intrude on the central image.

    Some of the versos of the images evidence very slight and faint soiling. Those that are mounted or in the original mats also show faint soiling on verso, but again, this is minor, and not unexpected, given the period use of the imagery.

    Please see our additional images or contact the department for more information. Overall an exceptional and rare large grouping of this important and exceedingly early color work.


    Please contact the Specialist for the auction to request a condition report.

    Condition reports and additional images are provided as a courtesy and should be used by you to aid in the formation of your own opinion regarding condition. All material is sold subject to Swann's standard Terms and Conditions of Sale as published in our catalogues and posted on our website, and include the following terms: (1) all property is sold "as-is"; and (2) works cannot be returned on the basis of condition.

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February 23, 2023 12:00 PM EST
New York, NY, US

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