NEW YORK, NY.- The winter Fine Photographs auction will feature more than 100 lots from the Collection of Neil Robert Berzak, alongside a selection of works from various owners. The sale will be a timed, online auction open for bidding now through Tuesday, December 17. Lots will begin closing at 12 PM ET. Bidding is available on the Swann Galleries App and on live.swanngalleries.com. Exhibition hours are 12 PM to 5 PM on Friday, December 12, Saturday, December 14, and Monday, December 16.
Rich in twentieth-century masters, the collection of Neil Robert Berzak features rare and important photographs at accessible entry points from new and seasoned collectors. Highlights include Ansel Adams’ Portfolio Four: What Majestic Word, In Memory of Russell Varian, 1963 ($50,000-75,000), Julia Margaret Cameron’s signed portrait Alfred, Lord Tennyson, 1869 ($10,000-15,000), George A. Tice’s Petit’s Mobil Station and Watertower, Cherry Hill, N.J., 1974, printed 1979 ($8,000-12,000), and Roman Vishniac’s The Vanished World portfolio, 1936-38, printed 1977 ($10,000-15,000), among much more.
Numerous iconic Edward Weston photographs printed by Cole Weston are featured in the collection, including Nude on Sand, Oceano, 1936, printed circa 1980s ($3,000-4,500); Pepper No. 30, 1930, printed circa 1980s ($5,000-7,500); and Nude (Charis, Santa Monica), 1936, printed 1970s ($6,000-9,000). Other notable prints are a rare suite of Arthur Tress’ work from the series Shadow, 1974, printed 1975 ($10,000-15,000); Marc Riboud’s The Painter of the Eiffel Tower, Paris, 1953, printed 1980s ($3,000-4,500); and Timothy O’Sullivan’s Aboriginal Life Among the Navajo Indians, New Mexico, 1873 ($8,000-12,000).
An amateur photographer for more than 70 years, Berzak loved photography and amassed a large and diverse collection that ranged from daguerreotypes to modern photographers. He studied with Ansel Adams in the 1960s and became friendly with many famous photographers of the 1960s and 1970s. Berzak also amassed a large collection of aviation photography. He won many amateur photography competitions and was involved with and president of the Fresh Meadows Camera Club. He was an architect in New York City.
The sale also includes numerous works from various owners, including work by Dorothea Lange, Gordon Parks, Danny Lyon, Sheila Metzner, George Platt Lynes, Patti Smith, Berenice Abbott, Kiichi Asano, Yoshiyuki Iwase, Todd Webb, and many more. Notable lots include Lange’s Squatters Along Highway Near Bakersfield, CA, 1935 ($4,000-6,000); a selection of three photographs from Women are Beautiful, 1960s to 1970s, by Garry Winogrand ($4,000-6,000); and Nan Goldin’s My Hotel Room, Valencia, Spain, 1987, printed 1996 ($4,000-6,000).
