CHICAGO, IL.- Hindman’s May 2nd Photographs auction features a wide range of works from its beginnings in the 19th century to contemporary works of art. With the recent celebration of Earth Day in mind, the sale includes a selection of works with a strong environmental focus by artists such as Peter Beard, Edward Burtynsky, Michel Ghatan and Sebastião Salgado.

Recording Human Impact on the Environment

Burtynsky’s remarkable photographs bear witness to the impact of human industry on the planet, while Beard, Ghatan and Salgado, in their own very individual ways, focus on the ongoing threat to indigenous African tribes and wildlife from climate change, hunting and war.

Highlights include:

• Lot 36 | Edward Burtynsky (born 1955), Dryland Farming #28, Castile-La-Mancha, Spain, 2010 | Estimate: $8,000 - 12,000

• Lot 95 | Michel Ghatan (born 1975), The Twins, Masai Mara, Kenya, 2021 | Estimate: $5,000 - 7,000

• Lot 76 | Sebastião Salgado (born 1944), Boys fleeing from southern Sudan to avoid being forced to fight in the civil war, heading for the refugee camps of northern Kenya, Southern Sudan, 1993 | Estimate: $4,000 - 6,000

Among the strong line-up of works by Beard, there are a number from the collection of Webster University, St. Louis, being sold to enhance the student experience. Beard lived for a while in Kenya and tirelessly documented the catastrophic consequences of hunting on its indigenous wildlife, often decorating these poignant images with collage, blood and colored inks.

Highlights include:

• Lot 81 | Peter Beard (1938-2020), Roping Rhinos from the Hunting Blocks 28 + 29, 1965 | Estimate: $10,000 - 15,000

• Lot 90 | Peter Beard (1938-2020), Game Control on Lariak Estate for Gilbert Coleville, from The End of the Game, 1960 | Estimate: $10,000 - 15,000

Brazilian photographer Vik Muniz will also be featured in the auction. In his series Aftermath (lot 14; estimate $12,000-18,000), Muniz, known for his extraordinary trompe l’oeuil imagery, made portraits of Rio street kids, posed as their favorite figure from art history, from garbage he collected after Carnivale and then photographed the result

Massimo Vitali

Under blue skies and beside blue seas, Vitali’s photography exhibits – in his words – ‘cosmetic fakery, sexual innuendo, commodified leisure, and a deluded sense of affluence. Vitali has become recognized for his beaches, outdoor scenes and leisure events that transport viewers. Madima Vertical Wave #2732, 2005 (lot 37; estimate: $15,000-25,000) captures the laidback essence that he has become so celebrated for.

Additional Highlights

Closer to home is the cover lot by Paul D’Amato, Girl in Rain, Chicago, 1991 (lot 55, $4,000-6,000) a beautifully composed, dreamlike yet startling image from his series Barrio, taken in the heart of the city’s Mexican community in Pilsen and Little Village.

“D’Amato’s street photography perfectly captures moments that are both ordinary and yet extraordinary. Girl in Rain, Chicago, is a powerful example of the contradictory qualities in his work that make it so compelling,“ commented Laura Paterson, Hindman Director & Senior Specialist of Photographs.

James Van Der Zee’s "James Van Der Zee: Eighteen Photographs, 1905-1939," (lot 27; estimate: $25,000 - 35,000) is a seminal work by an African American pioneer of the medium, who operated a photography studio in Harlem in the 1920s. He used painted backdrops and photographic manipulation to create cosmopolitan portraits in his studio, as well as capturing the storefronts and local athletic, spiritual, social, and political groups around him.

Bidding for the May 2nd auction will begin at 10am CT and will be available in-person at Hindman’s Chicago headquarters, via absentee bid and telephone and online via the Digital Bid Room.