Though he was born in Switzerland, photographer Robert Frank’s greatest legacy was his representation of places and figures across the United States, the bulk of which was published in a seminal book titled The Americans.
Frank emigrated to America in 1948, settling in New York City, where he was hired as a fashion photographer for Harper’s Bazaar by the magazine’s legendary art director Alexey Brodovitch, who also recruited Lisette Model, Richard Avedon and mid-century-era style-setting couple Leslie Gill and Frances McLaughlin-Gill. Frank’s artistic style — and use of a 35mm Leica, an unconventional choice in the fashion world — proved not to be a fit, however, and he left the job after a few months. He went on to produce street photography around the city while working freelance jobs for the likes of Vogue, Life and other publications.
But it was leaving New York that would produce Frank’s most notable work. Throughout the 1950s, with the support of a Guggenheim Fellowship and guidance from Walker Evans, he embarked on a series of cross-country road trips, traversing nearly every state in the continental U.S. and producing a wealth of arresting photographs of its inhabitants. The black-and-white images pioneered what became known as a “snapshot aesthetic,” capturing a spontaneous moment. Subjects are often out of focus and rarely looking toward the camera, and rippled fabric or bent grasses often suggest movement and breeze.
After an initial publication in France, where the photographs appear alongside essays, The Americans was released in the U.S. in 1959 with a foreword by author Jack Kerouac, who espoused Frank’s ability to capture a uniquely American spirit.
“That crazy feeling in America,” Kerouac wrote, “when the sun is hot and music comes out of the jukebox or from a nearby funeral, that’s what Robert Frank has captured in tremendous photographs taken as he traveled on the road around practically forty-eight states in an old used car.”
Following the release of The Americans, Frank turned much of his attention to film. He would go on to produce a film version of Kerouac’s The Beat Generation and cofounded the New American Cinema Group in 1960. He died in 2019.
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Robert Frank The Americans (1968 MoMa edition)
By Robert Frank
Located in Brooklyn, NY
1968 MoMa edition of Robert Frank The Americans: Cover: Fair overall vintage condition: minor creasing & age related wear. Interior: Good overall vintage condition. Bibliographic ...
Paper
Robert Frank Untitled from the Americans, 1958, Beats Culture, Black & White
By Robert Frank
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Robert Frank Untitled from the Americans, 1958, Beats Culture, Black & White. Photogravure print, mid-century, France,wax tissue mounted on conservation matboard. Influenced by the work of Jakob Tuggener and Bill Brandt, as well as Walker Evans, Frank, a native of Switzerland, Frank was fascinated by documentary photography and the notion and image of "America." Frank secured a Guggenheim fellowship in 1955 to do something new and unconstrained by commercial diktats. "The Americans" was first published in 1958 in France, before its first run in the US in 1959. The photographs were shocking and notable for their distanced view of both high and low strata of American society, creating a complicated portrait of a period that was, then and now, considered to be a skeptical portrait of post-WWII American values but also deeply empathetic and profoundly evocative of ubiquitous loneliness. Frank found a tension in the gloss of American culture and wealth over race and class differences, which gave his photographs a clear contrast to those of most contemporary American photojournalists, as did his use of unusual focus, low lighting and cropping that deviated from accepted photographic techniques. Shortly before the book was published in France, Frank returned to the US (1957) and met Jack Kerouac on the sidewalk outside a party. They started chatting. Frank showed him some of his photographs. Kerouac immediately told Frank "Sure, I can write something about these pictures." Kerouac would write the introduction to the American edition of the book, published two years later. Sociologist Howard S...
Paper
$750 / item
H 11.8 in W 16.2 in D 4 in
Walt Disney Film Archives, the Animated Movies 1921-1968, Collector's Edition
Located in Los Angeles, CA
Hardcover, 620 pages, 41.1 x 30 cm (16.2 x 11.8 in.) in clamshell box. With portfolio of 5 cel setups, 37.6 x 30 cm (14.8 x 11.8 in.) and 30 x 36.3 cm (11.8 x 14.3 in.), and 64-page facsimile of 'The Sorcerer's Apprentice' storyboard from Fantasia, 30 x 37 cm (11.8 x 14.6 in.). This Taschen Collector’s edition presents the first volume of one of the most expansive illustrated publications on Disney animation. In it, some 1,500 images as well as top essays by eminent Disney experts take us to the beating heart of the studio’s “Golden Age of Animation,” tracing Disney’s complete animation journey from the silent film era, through his first full-length feature Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) and the pioneering artistic experiment Fantasia (1940), right up to his last masterpieces Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree (1966) and The Jungle Book (1967). The book brings focus to each of the major animated features made during Walt’s lifetime, including Pinocchio, Fantasia, Dumbo, Bambi, Cinderella, Peter Pan, Lady and the Tramp, and 101 Dalmatians, without forgetting the experimental short films of the Silly Symphonies series, underappreciated episodic musical films such as Make Mine Music and Melody Time, and many unfinished projects, such as proposed sequels to Fantasia or a homage to Davy Crockett by painter Thomas Hart Benton. With extensive research conducted through the collections of the Walt Disney Company, as well as private collections, editor Daniel Kothenschulte curates some of the most precious concept paintings and storyboards to reveal just how these animation masterpieces came to life. These original artworks are accompanied by cel setups of famous film scenes, rare pictures from Disney photographers, and fascinating excerpts from story conferences between Walt and his staff. Throughout, contributions from leading Disney specialists detail the evolution of each film and honour the outstanding animators and designers who influenced the style of the studio, among them Albert Hurter, Gustaf Tenggren, Kay Nielsen, Carl Barks, Mary Blair, Sylvia Holland, Tyrus Wong...
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John Kacere Nude Prints
Located in Atlanta, GA
John Kacere nude prints, American, circa 1970s. The top print measures 18.25" H x 27.5" W. The bottom left measures 15" H x 23" W. The bottom right measures 14.75" H x 22" W. They ha...
Glass, Wood, Paper
$1,800
H 32.25 in W 27.3 in D 1.3 in
Christo / The Pont Neuf Wrapped / Project For Paris, 1984 Lithograph
By Christo and Jeanne-Claude, Nouvelles Images
Located in New York, NY
Christo / The Pont Neuf Wrapped / Project for Paris, 1984 / Collage En Deux Partes Offset lithograph in colors on woven paper, published by Nouvelles Ima...
Paper
$750
H 11.75 in W 8.07 in D 1.88 in
Travels with a Donkey in the Cevennes by Robert Louis Stevenson, Ltd. Edition
By Robert Louis Stevenson
Located in Colorado Springs, CO
Stevenson, Robert Louis. Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes. New York: The Limited Editions Club, 1957. Limited edition, numbered 763/1500. Signed and illustrated by Roger Duvoisi...
Leather, Fabric, Paper
$240
H 21.26 in W 14.18 in D 0.02 in
Venetian Serenity: Capturing the Essence of Calle della Madonna, 1890
Located in Langweer, NL
Photogravure of Calle della Madonna, a street near Ponte di Rialto in Venice, Italy. This print originates from 'Calli e Canali - Streets and Canals in ...
Paper
The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York (1st edition)
By Norman Bel Geddes
Located in New York, NY
First edition (stated) of Robert Caro’s magisterial biography of Robert Moses, awarded a Pulitzer Prize for Biography and selected by Modern Library as one of the hundred greatest no...
Paper
The American Speaker (1811), First Edition
Located in North Palm Beach, FL
This is a rare and historically significant American schoolbook, highly desirable to collectors of early American imprints and educational history. A rare and important piece of earl...
Leather, Paper
$95
H 14.75 in W 11 in D 0.75 in
Frank Lloyd Wright American Architect of the Twentieth Century Book 1st Ed.1993
By (after) Frank Lloyd Wright
Located in Moreno Valley, CA
Frank Lloyd Wright American Architect of the Twentieth century 1993. by Robin Langley Sommer. 1st Edition, hardcover book. Frank Lloyd Wright: American Architect for the Twentieth Century Hardcover book. Frank Lloyd Wright is recognized as a dominant figure in the history of modern architecture. His life and revolutionary work is described in this volume filled with more than 180 photographs illustrating 60 of his most-beloved buildings. An impressive, beautifully illustrated volume examines the creations of America's beloved architect, including interior furnishings, stunning private homes, and unique public buildings, with an introduction providing insight into his private life as well as his enduring work. Publisher ? : ? Smithmark Pub Language ? : ? English Item Weight ? : ? 3.6 pounds Dimensions ? : ? 11 x 0.75 x 14.75 inches. Recognized as a dominant figure in the history of modern architecture and the greatest design influenced in the United States during the first half of the twentieth century, Frank Lloyd Wright created, during his long and prolific career, a unique body of work that endures to this day. Beginning in 1889 with the design for his own house in Oak Park, Illinois, and continuing with hundreds of designs for residential, commercial, ecclesiastical, educational and civic structures, Wright's varied architecture is unified only by the underlying organized principles of change and innovation. Revolutionizing residential architecture with the disparate expressions of his simple creed, "out of the ground and into the light! Wright's houses feature a sense of unity and privacy, an a free flow of interior space. Wright sought synthesis in his projects by designing whenever possible, everything from furniture, art glass and lighting fixtures to table lines, carpets and carports. In his Prairies Houses, textile-block structures and Usonian houses, culminating in his masterpiece, Fallingwater, Wright experimented with forms, materials and technology in ever-evolving designs. Wright designed such ambitious commercial masterworks as the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo, the Arizona Biltmore Hotel, the S.C. Johnson and Son Administration Building and Research Tower, and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum-the alter for which he is perhaps best known. This volume pays tribute to the life and works of frank Lloyd Wright with more than 180 photographs illustrating 60 selected buildings, complemented by a descriptive and incisive text. Front cover: Fallinger, the Edgar J. Kaufmann, Sr. House (1935) in Mill Run, Pennsylvania. Photographer for The Western Pennsylvania Conservancy. Back Cover: The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum (1943-1956) in New York City Photo by Ezra Stroller...
Paper
$2,950
H 16 in W 12 in D 0.5 in
Anna Condo, From My Garden #1, Dye Sublimation Print on Aluminum, US, 2021
By Anna Condo
Located in New York, NY
Anna Condo, a filmmaker and a photographer born in Armenia and raised in France, has been photographing flowers, her "ultimate muse," since 2013. The medium became a creative outlet ...
Aluminum
$6,500 / item
H 43 in W 60 in D 1.5 in
"Athansor, " Horse Color White Framed Photograph by Lisa Houlgrave
Located in New York, NY
Lisa Houlgrave's portrait features the mighty Andalusian stallion, Novelisto D, who played Colin Farrell's guardian angel, Athansor, In Warner Brother's...
Paper
$950Sale Price|42% Off
H 13.5 in W 10.5 in D 1 in
Vintage Nude Black and White Photograph by Josef Ehm
By Josef Ehm
Located in Rochester, NY
Vintage black and white photograph, photography by Josef Ehm. "Resting Model II", circa 1960s, gelatin silver print. Josef Ehm: Czech, 1909-1989. Born in Habartov. Apprenticed i...
Paper
American Iconology, First Edition
Located in valatie, NY
American Iconology, New Approaches to Nineteenth-Century Art and Literature. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1993. Hardcover with dust jacket. 344 pp. Overview of the "sister arts"...
Paper
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H 12 in W 12 in D 0.25 in
Original Rolling Stones Exile on Main Street Vinyl Record 'First Pressing'
By Robert Frank
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Vintage original rolling stones exile on main street vinyl first pressing, 1972, two vinyl records featuring photography by Robert Frank Cover:...
Paper
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H 12 in W 12 in D 0.25 in
Original Rolling Stones Exile on Main Street Vinyl Record 'First Pressing'
By Robert Frank
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Vintage original rolling stones exile on main street vinyl first pressing, 1972; two vinyl records featuring photography by Robert Frank Cover: ...
Paper
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H 12 in W 12 in D 0.25 in
Original Rolling Stones Exile on Main Street Vinyl Record 'First Pressing'
By Robert Frank
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Vintage original rolling stones exile on main street vinyl first pressing, 1972; two vinyl records featuring photography by Robert Frank Cover...
Paper
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H 12 in W 12 in D 0.25 in
Original Rolling Stones Exile on Main Street Vinyl Record 'First Pressing'
By Robert Frank
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Vintage original rolling stones exile on main street vinyl first pressing, 1972; two vinyl records featuring photography by Robert Frank Cover...
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H 12 in W 12 in D 0.25 in
Original Rolling Stones, Exile on Main Street Vinyl Record ‘Robert Frank’
By Robert Frank
Located in Brooklyn, NY
Vintage original rolling stones exile on Main Street Vinyl first pressing, 1972; two vinyl records Photography/artwork by Robert Frank Cove...
Comme des Garcons Six Magazine, Number 4, 1989
By Robert Frank, Rei Kawakubo
Located in CA, CA
Only published between 1988 and 1991, the few existing issues of Comme Des Garcons’ biannual ‘Six’ magazine have become hugely collectable. Collaborating with artists, Rei Kawakubo created publications to be released inline with her collections of those years. This incredible issue includes work from Robert Frank, Arthur Elgort, Josef Koudeika, Saul Leiter...