Irving Penn (b. 1917)

Platinum palladium print, mounted on aluminium. Signed and numbered '34/42' in pencil on the reverse. With the photographer's copyright stamp, edition note (initialled) and process annotations also on the reverse. Printed April 1975. Framed.

Penn, I. 1991 p. 206.

Excellent condition.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Penn's great series of cigarettes prefigures much that has come since. These tiny, forgotten pieces of urban trivia become, in his hands, monuments of an entire culture. It is easy to overlook how brave it was for a photographer employed essentially in the fashion industry to have stooped to notice these squalid remains. Long before our present concerns with health and the environment, Penn had already turned his attention in those directions. The series was first shown at the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 1975, and there has been no question ever since that that is where they belong.