Nadar (Gaspard-Félix Tournachon)

albumen print with arched top, mounted, matted, framed, circa 1862

Collection of the sitter, the photographer's son Paul Nadar

By descent to his daughter, Marthe Nadar

Acquired from the above by Michel-François Braive, Paris

Acquired from the above by Gérard Lévy, Paris

Acquired by the Quillan Company from the above, 1989

Jill Quasha, The Quillan Collection of Nineteenth and Twentieth Century Photographs (New York, 1991), pl. 6 (this print)

Grading this albumen print on a scale of 1 to 10 - a 10 being an albumen print that has deep brown dark tones and highlights that retain all of their original detail - this print rates a 9. The print's most noticeable condition issue is an old loss in the area of the subject's hair, approximately .75cm. square, visible in our catalogue illustration. This was retouched with what appears to be graphite. When the print is viewed closely in raking light, a number of faint creases can be seen that were likely in the print before mounting or happened during mounting - these are most noticeable in the print's lower right corner. The print's arched top is unevenly trimmed, as are the two bottom corners. None of these issues diminishes the impact of this lovely, sensitively rendered portrait. The photograph is on a thin board mount that has minor soiling along the upper left edge.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

The photographer Nadar is best-known for his photographs of the luminaries of his day.  Performers such as Sarah Bernhard and the mime Charles Deburau as Pierrot; writers Charles Baudelaire and Alexandre Dumas; artists Gustave Doré, Honoré Daumier, and Charles-François Daubigny, and many others sat before his camera.  Equal parts showman, businessman, and artist, Nadar helped redefine celebrity for the new photographic age.   

Photographs reflecting Nadar's personal life are rare, and this image of his young son, Paul, is a disarming portrait that is unusual within the photographer's oeuvre.   The story, passed down through the photographer's descendants, is that Nadar made this image of Paul when the young boy was suffering from chicken pox.  As of this writing, the Quillan Collection's photograph is the only albumen print of this image that has been located.  A collotype reproduction (in reverse) was sold at Sotheby's London on 27 October 1999 (La Photographie. Collection Marie-Thérèse et André Jammes, Sotheby's London, Sale L9316, Lot 124).

The print offered here was at one time in the collection of French photographic scholar and author Michel-François Braive.  Braive became interested Nadar while a student at the École du Louvre, and sought out the photographer's granddaughter, Marthe, in the 1940s.  From her he acquired a collection of Nadar's photographs and documents that would help shape the study and reappraisal of this important photographer's work in the twentieth century.