Edward Steichen’s ‘White Lotus’ Brings Record for the Image in Winter 2020 Sale of Classic & Contemporary Photographs It was a Who’s Who among American photographers in Classic & Contemporary Photographs on Tuesday, February 25. The auction brought $1M and saw competitive bidding in the room and on the Swann Galleries App. Edward Steichen Edward Steichen, White Lotus, dye transfer print, 1939, printed 1940. Sold for $81,250, a record for the image. Edward Steichen led the sale with the dye transfer print White Lotus, 1939, printed 1940. The scarce color work brought a record for the image at $81,250. Also by Steichen was a 1922 silver contact print—a portrait of the artist Constantine Brancusi, which sold for $17,500. American Photography Margaret Bourke-White, The George Washington Bridge, warm-toned silver print, 1933. Sold for $81,250. Margaret Bourke-White’s 1933 warm-toned silver print The George Washington Bridge, came across the block from the collection of Robert Edward Kiehl, by descent, and earned $81,250. Edward Weston, Eroded Rock, silver print, 1930. Sold for $12,500. The Weston family provided a strong showing with Edward Weston’s 1930 silver print Eroded Rock earning $12,500 and Brett Weston’s Dunes, Oceano, silver print, 1934, bringing $10,000. Charles Sheeler, Buggy in a Barn, Doylestown, Pennsylvania (Christman card), sepia-toned silver print, 1915-17, printed 1928. Sold for $12,500. Additional works from American stalwarts included Charles Sheeler’s sepia-toned silver print Buggy in a Barn, Doylestown, Pennsylvania (Christmas card), 1915-17, printed 1928, which brought $12,500; and Minor White’s silver prints Beginnings, Rochester, New York (Frosted Window), 1952, and Moon and Wall Encrustations, Puttneyville, NY, 1965, sold for $11,250 apiece. Farms Security Administration Walker Evans, River Rouge Plant (Ford Motor Company), Number 1 Coke Quencher, silver print, 1947. Sold for $10,000. Farm Security Administration photographers proved successful, with River Rouge Plant (Ford Motor Company), Number 1 Coke Quencher, silver print, 1947, by Walker Evans, won by an institution for $10,000. Dorothea Lange was also present with Family Walking on Highway, Five Children, silver print, 1938, printed circa 1960, $9,375. Henri Cartier-Bresson Henri Cartier-Bresson, Rue Mouffetard, silver print, 1954, printed 1980s. Sold $16,250. Humanist photography featured a run of Henri Cartier-Bresson: Behind the Gare St. Lazare, silver print, 1932, printed 1980s, and Hyères, France, silver print, 1932, printed 1980s, $11,875 each. Nineteenth-Century Photographs Francis Frith, The Pyramids of Sakkarah, from the North East, mammoth-plate albumen print, 1858. Sold for $12,500. Nineteenth-century works included mammoth-plate albumen prints by Francis Firth: The Pyramids of Sakkarah, from the North East, 1858 ($12,500), and The Second Pyramid from the Southeast, 1858 ($10,625). Browse the complete list of results from our February 25, 2020 sale of Classic & Contemporary Photographs. More about consigning with Swann. Share Facebook Twitter February 27, 2020Author: Kelsie JankowskiCategory: Photographs & Photobooks Tags: American Photography Brett Weston Charles Sheeler Dorothea Lange Edward Steichen Edward Weston Farm Security Administration Francis Firth Henri Cartier-Bresson Margaret Bourke-White Minor White Photographs & Photobooks Records & Results walker evans Previous Artist Profile: Rockwell Kent Next Before O. Henry: William Sydney Porter’s First Professional Commission Recommended Posts Artist Profile: Edward Weston Photographs & Photobooks March 4, 2020 13 Auction Records in Spring 2021 Sale of African American Art African American Art April 26, 2021 Records & Results: American Art American Art June 18, 2018