Irving Penn

signed, titled, and dated by the photographer in ink, annotated 'Print made near to date of photograph' by him and numbered in various unidentified hands in pencil and with his credit, edition, and Condé Nast copyright stamps on the reverse, matted, 1947, one of no more than 20 prints in gelatin silver 

The photographer to Pace/MacGill Gallery, New York

Acquired by Edwynn Houk Gallery, Chicago, from the above, 1988

Acquired by the Quillan Company from the above, 1989

Jill Quasha, The Quillan Collection of Nineteenth and Twentieth Century Photographs (New York, 1991), pl. 51 (this print)

Other prints of this image:

Irving Penn, Moments Preserved (New York, 1960), pp. 120-21

John Szarkowski, Irving Penn (The Museum of Modern Art, 1984, in conjunction with the exhibition), pl. 73

Merry A. Foresta and William F. Stapp, Irving Penn: Master Images, The Collections of the National Museum of American Art and the National Portrait Gallery (Washington, D. C.: National Museum of American Art and the National Portrait Gallery, 1990, in conjunction with the exhibition), pl. 2

Irving Penn: Passage, A Work Record (New York, 1991), p. 39

Colin Westerbeck, ed., Irving Penn: A Career in Photography (The Art Institute of Chicago, 1997, in conjunction with the exhibition), fig. 21, p. 181

Still Life: Irving Penn Photographs 1938 - 2000 (Boston, 2001), unpaginated

Sarah Greenough, Irving Penn: Platinum Prints (Washington, D. C.: National Gallery of Art, 2005, in conjunction with the exhibition), pl. 6

Passion and Precision: Photographs from the Collection of Margaret W. Weston (Monterey Museum of Art, 2003, in conjunction with the exhibition), p. 22

This print is on double-weight paper with semi-glossy paper. It is essentially in excellent condition. There is a very faint ½- inch soft handling crease in the upper right quadrant, visible only upon close examination, as is a very faint horizontal crease running across the upper portion of the image. None of these condition issues undermines the overwhelmingly fine appearance of this print.
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.
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New York Still Life, made by Irving Penn for Vogue magazine, was first published in the 1 July 1947 issue, and there titled Elements in a Party.  The bulk of Penn's editorial work at the time consisted largely of fashion studies and celebrity portraits, but his skill in lighting and arranging subjects, so evident in those images, is just as visible in the meticulously-composed still life offered here.  So, too, is the photographer's penchant for creating perfect images from less-than-perfect elements.  In his fashion and portrait work, Penn included studio paraphernalia that was typically concealed in the conventional magazine photographs of the day: the edge of the seamless backing paper, electric cables, the studio's dirty floor, etc.  In New York Still Life, breadcrumbs and discarded cherry stems litter the area beneath the cordial glass, more cherry stems and other crumbs are visible on the plate, and a beetle has been carefully positioned on the sack of cracked corn.  Far from undermining his subjects, the inclusion of these elements only enhances it.  These small reminders of the grittiness of the real world throw the elegance of Penn's subjects into greater relief.