Christie’s will offer a collection of 71 lots Sold to Benefit Acquisitions for the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, its spring Photographs sale, on Thursday, April 5.
Founded in 1900, the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, began to exhibit photographs in the mid-1920s. Today, the MFAH’s photography collection encompasses more than 28,000 images. The prints being offered have been deaccessioned after a lengthy survey of the museum’s holdings and with the consideration of priorities for future accessions. The funds achieved from these sales will be committed to the purchase of other photographs for the museum. Among the considerable range of photographs included in the collection is Montage, New York City, 1946 (estimate: $8,000-12,000), an extremely rare vintage print from pioneering street photographer Louis Faurer. Other highlights are Helmut Newton’s Self Portrait with Wife and Models, Paris, 1981 (estimate: $20,000 – $30,000) and Ansel Adams’ Winter Sunrise, Sierra Nevada, from Lone Pine, California, circa 1944 (Estimate: $25,000 – $35,000).