In 2010, Andy and Mary Pilara opened Pier 24 Photography, a world-class exhibition space devoted to photography in an abandoned warehouse on San Francisco’s Embarcadero. Scroll down to learn more about the memorable space and monumental collection.

In 2010, Andy and Mary Pilara opened Pier 24 Photography, a world-class exhibition space devoted to photography in an abandoned warehouse on San Francisco’s Embarcadero. Click to learn more about the memorable space and monumental collection.

Pier 24 Photography and the Pilara Family Foundation

Photographer Alec Soth chooses images from the Pier 24 Photography Collection that are particularly meaningful to him.

The Photographer’s Eye: Alec Soth’s Favorite Photographs from the Pilara Family Foundation Collection

Photographers approach self portraiture in a multitude of ways.&nbsp; The 2012-2013 exhibition at Pier 24 Photography, About Face, featured some of the most striking portraits included in the Pilara Family Foundation collection.

About Face

Made between 1961 and 1970, in locales ranging from Galax, Virginia, to Philadelphia, to Washington State, Lee Friedlander’s The Little Screens each include within their frames a television set illuminated with flickering moments of entertainment, advertising, or politics. Like the best of Friedlander’s photographs, these images initially appear off-hand and casual. Examined more closely—and seen together as a series—they reveal a depth of sophistication.&nbsp;

Lee Friedlander’s The Little Screens photographs capture the growing ubiquity of television in post-war America and offer deadpan comic commentary on the vacuity of popular culture. Learn more about the largest and most complete set of these photographs ever to appear at auction.

The Little Screens

On the occasion of the country’s Bicentennial celebration, Rolling Stone commissioned Richard Avedon to cover the 1976 American Presidential primaries and campaign trail. Avedon countered their request with a suggestion of his own: he wanted to create a series of portraits of political subjects, players with relevance to the election year, and who were significant to the political climate of the time. The resultant special issue of Rolling Stone, titled 'The Family', was published on 21 October 1976, immediately prior to the 2 November presidential election.

Rolling Stone commissioned Avedon to create a series of portraits of political subjects. This special issue of Rolling Stone, titled 'The Family', was published on 21 October 1976, immediately prior to the 2 November presidential election.&nbsp; Learn more about the individuals Richard Avedon selected for this project.&nbsp;

The Family

One of the most unique collections in the Pier 24 Photography collection are 264 mugshot cards taken between 1916 and 1948 by the Scranton, Pennsylvania police department. Find out more about these fascinating pieces of history and the influence mugshot photographs have had on contemporary art.&nbsp;

Mugshots

Comprised of 46 images taken by Garry Winogrand between 1962 and 1969, The Animals photographs offered in the Pier 24 Photographs auction&nbsp; blur the boundary between voyeur and subject.&nbsp; Learn more about this monumental lot.&nbsp;

Comprised of 46 images taken by Garry Winogrand between 1962 and 1969, The Animals photographs offered in the Pier 24 Photographs auction&nbsp; blur the boundary between voyeur and subject.&nbsp; Click to learn more about this monumental lot.&nbsp;

The Animals

New York

Sotheby’s Spotlight: Pier 24 Photography from the Pilara Foundation

SVP, Global Head of Department, Photographs

Emily Bierman

Vice President | Senior Specialist

Aimee Pflieger

Deputy Director | International Specialist, Modern &amp; Contemporary Photographs

Hermione Sharp

Specialist | Photographs 

Aris Kourkoumelis

Paralegal

Caroline Gardiner

Pre-Sale Experience Coordinator

Juliet McLoughlin

Meet our Specialists

Live Auction: 2 May 2023 • 10:00 EDT • New York

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Pier 24 Photography from the Pilara Family Foundation Sold to Benefit Charitable Organizations&nbsp;will be offered at Sotheby’s New York beginning this May across a series of single-owner sales throughout 2023. One of the most significant collections of photographs to ever come to auction, the sale series will launch the Evening of May 1 with a selection of key masterworks by Richard Avedon, Hiroshi Sugimoto, Dorothea Lange, Lee Friedlander, Robert Adams, Helen Levitt and Garry Winogrand, among others. All proceeds from the auctions will be directed to charitable initiatives in healthcare research, education, and the arts.

Pier 24 Photography from the Pilara Family Foundation Sold to Benefit Charitable Organizations Evening Sale