NEW YORK, NY.- Throckmorton Fine Art presents Lucien Clergue: A Life Through the Lens, featuring rare vintage gelatin silver prints by renowned French photographer Lucien Clergue (1934–2014).

Lucien Clergue: A Life Through the Lens, on view from October 1, 2026, through January 16, 2027, brings together 45 vintage prints, from his iconic Nus de la mer (Nudes in the Sea) series to poetic studies of the Camargue marshes, bullfighting motifs, and surrealist compositions. Printed soon after the negatives were exposed, the images showcase Clergue’s command of high-contrast chiaroscuro and rich, tactile tones. Sensual, serene, and timeless, they evoke the Mediterranean and a quieter past while marking the emergence of modern European figurative photography.

Born in Arles, France, Clergue devoted his long photographic career to the interplay between nature and the human form, particularly the female figure. Working mainly in Southern France, he used the region’s intense light to striking effect. He was close to Jean Cocteau and Pablo Picasso, whom he photographed often. A leading advocate for photography as a fine art in France, Clergue co-founded the celebrated Rencontres d’Arles festival in 1970. It has since become a major international photography event, attracting more than 100,000 visitors each summer.

Clergue is firmly established in the canon of modern photography. His work is held by major museums, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Modern Art in New York; the Art Institute of Chicago; the Los Angeles County Museum of Art; the Bibliothèque nationale de France, Centre Pompidou, and Musée Picasso in Paris; Kunstmuseum Basel; Moderna Museet in Stockholm; the Oxford College Collection in the UK; and the Museum of Modern Art in Mexico City.

Throckmorton Fine Art is proud to have represented Lucien Clergue in New York. Fondly remembered by those who knew him, he leaves an enduring legacy of compelling images.

Throckmorton Fine Art

Spencer Throckmorton founded Throckmorton Fine Art in 1980 and maintains a high-profile gallery in New York City’s East 57th Street art district. Throckmorton is unique in its approach to dealing in several categories and for supporting a vigorous exhibition and publishing program for each specialty. He has become one of the foremost sources for important Latin American contemporary and vintage photography, as well as for pre-Columbian artworks, and Chinese jade and antiquities.

Throckmorton Fine Art has participated in the most important art fairs including the annual Winter Show, where it has been a featured exhibitor for the last 30 years, and an exhibitor at The Photography Show presented by AIPAD for more than 20 years. Throckmorton has also been a member of ATADA (The Antique Tribal Art Dealers Association, Inc.) and the International Association for Ancient Asian and Tribal Art (formerly NADAOPA).

For further information contact: Spencer Throckmorton, Throckmorton Fine Art, Inc.
Call: +1 (212) 223-1059 | Email: info@throckmorton-nyc.com