Auction: October 3

Our curators picked their favorite items from our upcoming October 3 Photographs Signature® Auction.
| Nigel's Picks Nigel Russell | Director, Photographs, New York
Terry O'Neill Brigitte Bardot, 1971
Peter Tunney Homage to Brigitte Bardot, 2015
Terry O'Neill's photograph of Brigitte Bardot smoking a cigarette is one of the most iconic images of 20th-century celebrity portraiture. Captured in 1971 on the set of The Legend of Frenchie King, the photo portrays Bardot with tousled hair blowing across her face, her lips pursed around a cigarette. The casual yet magnetic composition embodies O'Neill's talent for catching his subjects in unguarded, intimate moments rather than staged poses. Bardot's expression conveys both nonchalance and raw sensuality, distilling her reputation as the ultimate symbol of 1960s and 1970s French glamour. Peter Tunney's Homage to Brigitte Bardot (2015) reflects his signature commentary on pop culture. Tunney here pays tribute to Bardot as a timeless muse of beauty, freedom, and rebellion with a double exposure of another woman striking the same pose. By reimagining her through a contemporary lens, he not only acknowledges her influence on fashion, cinema, and modern femininity but also situates her within his broader exploration of celebrity as myth.
John Dominis Leopard About to Kill a Terrified Baboon, Botswana, Africa, 1966
This photograph by John Dominis, taken for LIFE magazine in 1967, has remained controversial because of the ethical questions tied to its making. The dramatic scene-depicting a leopard about to attack a baboon-quickly gained recognition for its unflinching portrayal of nature's violence. Yet the image's authenticity was later called into question when Dominis acknowledged that it had been staged: a hunter had released a captured leopard into a troop of baboons for the shot. Once this became known, Dominis faced significant criticism and later expressed regret, explaining that staging photographs was a common and accepted practice in the 1960s. The photograph in this auction is special oversized dye-transfer print.
Alexis Peskine Alijana Moons 3, 2015
Alexis Peskine's Alijana Moons 3, is a delightful example of Afrofuturism. Afrofuturism emerged in the late 20th and early 21st centuries as a cultural and artistic movement that combines science fiction, technology, and African diasporic traditions to imagine liberated futures for Black people. It reclaims history while envisioning alternative realities where Black identity, creativity, and innovation are central to shaping the future. This photograph is part of Ailjane Moons, a series of four digital works created during Peskine's residency in Senegal. The subjects are young men who served a Marabout-a Muslim religious leader-by collecting alms. These boys, often indentured, used tomato cans for donations and rice mats for sleeping. Peskine designed their costumes to reflect their aspirations: dreams of becoming astronauts.
| Laura's Picks Laura Paterson | Consignment Director, Photographs, New York
Irving Penn The Hand of Miles Davis, New York, 1986
Irving Penn Miles Davis, 1986
The cover of the catalogue features a vintage print of Irving's Penn extraordinary The Hand of Miles Davis, 1 July 1986, a wonderfully expressive and graphic shot of the jazz superstar's left hand poised to play his imaginary trumpet. This is one of two portraits from this sitting in the auction - the other is a headshot showing Davis with a rapturous expression, cradling his head in both hands. The portraits were made when both photographer and sitter were at the height of their respective careers and illustrate just how well Penn could distill his subject matter (whether fashion, portraits or objects) to its essence, often also adding a mischievous twist.
Robert Frank Charleston, South Carolina (from The Americans), 1956
The auction also features a strong selection of Robert Franks, perhaps two of the most important of them from his ground-breaking series The Americans - an early print of his very personal take on quintessential Americana Barber Shop Through the Screen Door, McClellanville, South Carolina, 1955, originally in the collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; and an oversized print of his polemic against racial inequality.
Manuel Alvarez Bravo Fifteen Photographs Portfolio, 1929-1972
A self-taught photographer, Manuel Alvarez Bravo bought his first camera at the age of twenty while working in a government job. In 1927 he met Tina Modotti, who became a mentor and muse. She introduced him to a variety of other artists living in Mexico City, including her lover Edward Weston, who encouraged the younger artist to pursue his own very personal vision. This lot, a portfolio of Alvarez Bravo's "greatest hits", including "Parabola Optica", "Los Agachados" and "Sistema Nervoso" are all reflective of the photographer at his finest.
| Holly's Pick Holly Sherratt | West Coast Director, Photographs
Robert Frank City Fathers, Hoboken, New Jersey (from The Americans), 1955-1957
Provenance is more than a list of names; it is the record of a work's passage through the collections and institutions that define the history of photography. Few groups illustrate this more clearly than these photographs by Robert Frank. City Fathers, Hoboken, New Jersey (1955-1956) is an early work from The Americans, signed by Frank, inscribed by Grace Mayer during her tenure as Curator of Photography at MoMA, and stamped by the museum; it was likely produced for MoMA's landmark 1962 exhibition Harry Callahan and Robert Frank and recently featured in Turning the Page at Pier 24 Photography (2024-2025). London (Belsize Crescent) once belonged to Margaret Weston, daughter-in-law of Edward Weston and one of the most influential photography dealers in the United States; at the height of the photography market, this print was valued at more than a quarter of a million dollars. Barber Shop Through the Screen Door, McClellanville, South Carolina (1955) belonged to and was exhibited at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, carrying the museum's stamp and acquisition inscriptions. The Robert Frank section could stand as a museum exhibition on its own, further strengthened by the inclusion of Charleston, South Carolina (from The Americans), Frank's most iconic image, along with two important photographs from his 1958 travels with Jack Kerouac, undertaken shortly after the publication of On the Road.
| Toshiko's Picks Cataloguer, Fine and Decorative Arts, New York
Nicholas Nixon The Brown Sisters, 1975
Fixed point observation, or time-lapse, is one of the most powerful ways photography proves its capacity for documentation. During a family gathering, the "New Topographics" photographer Nicholas Nixon took this image in 1975 of his wife Bebe and her three sisters -the Brown Sisters. When he took another image of them the following year, he proposed to have them taken every year, positioned in the same order. He must not have realized that it would continue for over 40 years. Family portraits are everyone's central subject in photography. We take pictures of our family and friends, to try to freeze the present that quickly slips away every second, often having in mind to look at them later as we cherish the happy moments of the past. As seen in this first image of the series, Nixon captured a striking young group portrait that tells the story of intimate sisterhood. When you see the other images in order, year by year, as the sisters are positioned the same, you will notice easily how gradually time creates rich layers of life in each face. While life is short, the photographic document will live on.
Henri Cartier-Bresson Hyères, 1932
Henri Cartier-Bresson acquired a new 35mm Leica film camera in1932. It was a hand-held eye-level camera that allowed you to take photographs of exactly what you were seeing through the viewfinder. It operated quickly and smoothly with precision. The same year, he had taken the famous Behind the Gare St. Lazare with this Leica. He had the keen eye to capture the very instance in which all the elements were in perfect composition, later to be known as "the Decisive Moment" which was also the title for the American version of his most iconic photobook published in 1952. In the very same year he took Gare St. Lazare, he photographed this image titled Hyères, in Southern France, where he was on holiday. In many of his photographs, his ability to capture the decisive moment was strongly influenced by Cubist principles of shape and composition, as well as Surrealist concepts such as the convergence of disparate objects within a single frame. In this image, the spiral staircase and curved railings convey motion as they lead the bicycle out to the left.
| Mya's Picks Mya Adams | Cataloguer, Photographs, Dallas
Alfred Eisenstaedt Central Park After a Snow Storm, 1959
The moment this photograph came across my desk, I recognized the bridge instantly-not from a casual stroll through Central Park, but from something far more personal. Last summer, my best friend got engaged at this very spot, not on the bridge itself, but right where that forefront tree is locacted. I wasn't even present for the proposal, but the image of this bridge is etched so clearly in my mind that seeing it here felt like a homecoming of sorts. This image was taken in 1959, Eisenstaedt carefully chose this spot to set up equipment to capture this photograph. Now 65 years later, this spot was carefully chosen, and now an incredibly important spot for my best friends getting married in two months! It's always special to come across works in our sales that carry personal meaning. What is extra special is being able to recognize a work that could mean so much to someone else. One day, I hope to be able to gift this photograph to her.
Neil Folberg Four Dancers, 2003
This season's catalog features a beautifully curated ballet section. Among the several Eisenstaedts in the section (and resisting the temptation to choose another of his works, as he remains a personal favorite), I adore Neil Folberg's Four Dancers. The photograph directly references the ballet pastels of Edgar Degas, reimagining their timeless elegance through a contemporary lens. Folberg appears twice more in this Signature sale, with additional works that pay homage to Impressionist masters Renoir and Van Gogh. Across these pieces, Folberg demonstrates a remarkable ability to translate the spirit of historic artworks into the present, offering viewers a fresh yet faithful dialogue with the past.
View all of these and other important works by some of the most celebrated photographers of the 20th century in our October 3 Photographs Signature® Auction. Sincerely,
|  | Nigel Russell Director, Photographs, New York NigelR@HA.com (212) 486-3659
|  | Laura Paterson Consignment Director, Photographs, New York LauraP@HA.com (212) 486-3525
|  | Holly Sherratt West Coast Director, Photographs HollyS@HA.com (415) 548-5921
|  | Toshiko Abe Cataloguer, Fine & Decorative Arts New York ToshikoA@HA.com (212) 486-3523
|  | Mya Adams Cataloguer, Photographs, Dallas MyaA@HA.com (214) 409-1139