With the explosion of art fairs going on all over the world (seemingly somewhere each and every week these days), it’s becoming impossible for any one collector (however passionate) to visit every single one. As an antidote to the overstuffed, soulless fairs that have become more prevalent of late, the Classic Photographs Los Angeles show (here) was started in 2010 with the goal of being a more intimate affair. This year’s event took place last weekend, but we weren’t able to get out to the West Coast for a proper visit. Happily, we had a proxy in the form of Michael Lee from Lee Gallery in Winchester, MA (here) who was an exhibitor. Michael is one of the best young photography dealers around, with a terrific eye, an easy going manner, and a wealth of detailed knowledge; in short, he’s one of the good people in this business and certainly worth getting to know if you don’t already know him.
Michael gamely volunteered to take on the task of visiting the various booths of this fair, selecting those images that caught his eye and jotting down the normal Collector Daily notes and prices. He also asked each gallery to choose one image that they found particularly noteworthy, so for each booth, there are two selections – one from Michael (shown first in each pair) and one from the host gallery. A few installation shots give a flavor for the look and feel of the booths.
In the slideshow below, each image is captioned with the gallery where it was shown (linked), the artist, and the price. It seemed too much to ask Michael to note down his descriptive rationale for each and every choice, so we’ll have to enjoy his picks (and those of the galleries) without knowing exactly what it was that prompted the selections. Together, they provide a smartly edited sampler of what was on view.
Rose Gallery (here): Jo Ann Callis, $7500.
Rose Gallery (here): Mark Cohen, $9500.
Weinstein Gallery (here): Alec Soth, $13000.
Weinstein Gallery (here): Robert Mapplethorpe, $31000.
Charles A. Hartman Fine Art (here): Daido Moriyama, $3000.
Charles A. Hartman Fine Art (here): Emi Anrakuji, $2000.
Stephen Bulger Gallery (here): Richard Avedon, $8000
Stephen Bulger Gallery (here): David Goldblatt, $10000
Barry Singer Gallery (here): Harry Callahan, $6000.
Barry Singer Gallery (here): W. Eugene Smith, $6500.
Robert Klein Gallery (here): Bill Jacobsen, $6000.
Robert Klein Gallery (here): Formento + Formento, $5500.
Peter Fetterman Gallery (here): Mark Seliger, $5500.
Peter Fetterman Gallery (here): Marc Riboud, $8500.
Kopeikin Gallery (here): Garry Winogrand, $8500.
Kopeikin Gallery (here): Sant Khlasa, $2000.
Gitterman Gallery (here): Richard Gordon, $4000.
Gitterman Gallery (here): Oliver Gagliani, $6500.
Stephen Wirtz Gallery (here): Julius Shulman, $9500.
Stephen Wirtz Gallery (here): Margaret Bourke-White, $8500.
Vintage Works (here): Nancy Burson, $12000.
Vintage Works (here): Walker Evans, $POR.
Gary Edwards Gallery (here): A. Price/NBC TV (Jack Ruby shooting Lee Harvey Oswald), $1500.
Gary Edwards Gallery (here): Felice Beato, $3000.
Northern Light Gallery (here): Hartsock, $350.
Northern Light Gallery (here): Carleton Watkins, $3750.
Part 2 of this report (with the second half of the galleries) is here.
Read more about: Alec Soth, Bill Jacobson, Carleton Watkins, Daido Moriyama, David Goldblatt, Emi Anrakuji, Felix Beato, Formento + Formento, Garry Winogrand, Harry Callahan, Jo Ann Callis, Julius Shulman, Marc Riboud, Margaret Bourke-White, Mark Cohen, Mark Seliger, Nancy Burson, Oliver Gagliani, Richard Avedon, Richard Gordon, Robert Mapplethorpe, Sant Khlasa, W. Eugene Smith, Walker Evans, Barry Singer Gallery, Charles A. Hartman Fine Art, Gary Edwards Gallery, Gitterman Gallery, Kopeikin Gallery, Northern Light Gallery, Peter Fetterman Gallery, Robert Klein Gallery, Rose Gallery, Stephen Bulger Gallery, Stephen Wirtz Gallery, Vintage Works, Ltd, Weinstein Hammons Gallery, Classic Photographs Los Angeles