Alpha 137 Gallery Portrait Photography

Sean Scully (Hand Signed by Sean Scully) Color photograph on paper, ca. 1993 This marvelous photograph is boldly signed in blue ink by Sean Scully on the front The photographer is no...

Andy Warhol Portrait of Ivan Karp, ca. 1975 Acetate negative acquired directly from Chromacomp, Inc. Andy Warhol's printer in the 1970s. Accompanied by Letter of Provenance from the...

Silver gelatin print The present work is hand signed with the artist's copyright, dated 1983, and titled on the back. It is numbered 3 of an edition of only 10. On October 3, 1983, Madonna headlined a memorial concert in honor of Michael Stewart, a graffiti artist in the midst of the AIDS crisis who became a victim of police brutality. Madonna was only 24 years old in 1983, but had already signed her first record deal and was on the cusp of superstardom. In 1984, the year after Madonna appeared in Kroll's shoot, she would release chart hits Like A Virgin, Material Girl and Crazy For You, cementing her place as an international star. This photograph was taken by renowned photographer and editor Eric Kroll backstage at Danceteria - a gritty and popular after hours club and concert venue on West 21st Street in Manhattan, operating out of the first three floors in an old industrial 12-story building. The visible text "ACCUTUNKTIONA TO THE POINT!" and "UNK" are actual, gritty wall graffiti from the venue, adding to the candid nature of the shot. Eric Kroll is a notable photographer, best known for his many fetish subjects, and for documenting America’s seediest spots and denizens, sharing a certain aesthetic with fellow photographers Larry Clark and Richard Kern...

Cindy Sherman The Nine Lives of Cindy, 2019 Printed Bone Porcelain 12 1/2 in diameter Limited Edition of 100 Plate signed verso and also accompanied by plate signed documentation card/official Certificate of Authenticity In original box Produced exclusively for the National Portrait Gallery in the United Kingdom on the occasion of the 2019 Cindy Sherman exhibition which also traveled to the Vancouver Art Gallery. Acquired directly from the National Portrait Gallery before it sold out. Cindy Sherman Biography: Born in 1954 in Glen Ridge, New Jersey, Cindy Sherman lives and works in New York NY. Her ground-breaking photographs have interrogated themes around representation and identity in contemporary media for over four decades. Coming to prominence in the late 1970s with the Pictures Generation group alongside artists such as Sherrie Levine, Richard Prince and Louise Lawler, Sherman studied art at Buffalo State College in 1972 where she turned her attention to photography. In 1977, shortly after moving to New York, Sherman began her critically acclaimed Untitled Film Stills. A suite of 69 black and white portraits, Untitled Film Stills sees Sherman impersonate a myriad of stereotypical female characters and caricatures inspired by Hollywood pictures, film noir, and B movies. Using a range of costumes, props and backdrops to manipulate her own appearance and to create photographs resembling promotional film images, the series explores the tension between artifice and identity in consumer culture which has preoccupied the artist’s practice ever since. Sherman continued to channel and reconstruct familiar personas known to the collective psyche, often in unsettling ways. In 1981, the artist created her Centerfolds, a series of photographic double spreads inspired by men’s erotic magazines...

Intended for Andy Warhol Marcel Proust, ca. 1976 Acetate positive acquired directly from Chromacomp, Inc. Andy Warhol's printer in the 1970s. Derivative on acetate, based on a photo by Otto Wegener...

Richard Corman and Alec Monopoly Madonna, 2013 Color photographic monotype on archival pigment paper Hand signed, dated and numbered 1/1 by Richard Corman on the front 26 × 20 inches...

Christopher Makos, Andy Warhol Portrait of Andy Warhol taken by photographer Christopher Makos (Hand signed by BOTH Andy Warhol and Christopher Makos...

Helen Frankenthaler Hand signed and inscribed photograph, ca. 1987 Photograph printed on offset lithograph Hand signed and inscribed by Helen Frankenthaler on the front Frame Include...

Peter Beard Portraits of classical concert pianist Concert Pianist Chau-Giang Thi Nguyen in artists frame, 2006 Four (4) separate Chromogenic prints (c-print) in artist's frame. Hand...

Richard Corman Keith Haring 1 - NYC, 1985 (hand signed twice), 2022 Photographic print on Hahnemühle Photo Rag Ultrasmooth paper mounted on Dibond aluminum board. (Hand signed and nu...

Dennis Hopper Photographs 1961 - 1967 (Limited Edition Hand Signed), 2009 Hardcover Book in Clamshell Box. Hand Signed and numbered 1327/1500 Hand signed by Dennis Hopper on the colophon page. 19 × 14 1/4 × 3 1/10 inches This is the limited edition (signed and numbered) collector's edition, not to be confused with the later mass market edition. Hand signed, hardcover book in a clamshell box from an edition of 1500. 17.3 x 13 inches (book) 19 x 14 1/4 inches (box) 546 pages Accompanied by Certificate of Guarantee issued by Alpha 137 Gallery During the 1960s, Dennis Hopper (1936–2010) carried a camera everywhere—on film sets and locations, at parties, in diners, bars and galleries, driving on freeways, and walking in political marches. He photographed movie idols, pop stars, writers, artists, girlfriends, and complete strangers. Along the way he captured some of the most intriguing moments of his generation with a keen and intuitive eye. From a selection of photographs compiled by Hopper and gallerist Tony Shafrazi—more than a third of them previously unpublished—this Collector’s Edition distills the essence of Hopper’s prodigious photographic career, documenting the likes of Tina Turner in the studio, Andy Warhol at his first West Coast show, Paul Newman on set, and Martin Luther King Jr. during the Civil Rights March from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama. In many ways this work is photography as film, a poignant narrative expressed through a series of stark images—early shots of Tijuana bullfights, LA happenings, and urban street scenes show an experimental freedom that would translate into the vivid cinematic imagery of Easy Rider and beyond. The images are accompanied by introductory essays from Tony Shafrazi and legendary West Coast art pioneer Walter Hopps, as well as an extensive biography by journalist Jessica Hundley. With excerpts from Victor Bockris’s interviews of Hopper’s famous subjects, friends, and family, this is an unprecedented exploration of the life and mind of one of America’s most fascinating personalities. CONTRIBUTORS The photographer Dennis Hopper (1936–2010) was an acclaimed artist, actor, screenwriter, and director who first impressed audiences with his performances in Rebel Without A Cause (1955) and Giant (1956). He changed the face of American cinema with Easy Rider (1969), which he cowrote, directed, and starred in. Hopper went on to act in hundreds of memorable films and television shows, including Apocalypse Now (1979), Blue Velvet (1986), Hoosiers (1986), True Romance (1993), Basquiat (1997), Elegy (2008), and the TV series Crash (2008). Hopper began painting as a child and started taking photos in 1961, after his then wife Brooke Hayward...

Andy Warhol Portrait of Roy Lichtenstein, 1975 Polaroid dye-diffusion print Authenticated by the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, bears the Foundation stamp verso Also acc...

Michael Childers Andy Warhol in Paris. from Palm Springs Art Museum, 1976-1980, 2007 Gelatin Silver Print Boldly signed in black felt tip pen on the f...

Hans Namuth Jasper Johns and Leo Castelli, ca. 1985 Color Photograph Frame included Provenance: from the Marjorie and Anselm Talalay collection, Cleveland, OH. Rare original color p...

Billy Name Films of Andy Warhol, Whitney Museum of American Art (Hand Signed by Billy Name), 1988 Offset Lithograph Very rare vintage poster - hand signed by Billy Name on the front. Frame Included Very rare vintage poster - when hand signed by Warhol...

Michael Childers Andy Warhol in Paris with Sitting Bird 1976, 2007 Photographic print hand signed in black felt tip pen lower right front; the back be...

Andy Warhol Baroness de Waldner, ca. 1975 Unique Acetate positive This piece comes with a signed letter of provenance from the representative of Chromacomp, Warhol's printer. Frame i...

MICHAEL CHILDERS Andy Warhol in his New York studio, 1976 Photographic print Printed in 2007 Signed boldly on the front in black felt tip pen by photographer Michael Childers Frame included: in the original frame as donated by the photographer to the Palm Springs Art Museum This is one of a series of portraits of Andy Warhol by Michael Childers, founding photographer of Warhol's Interview and After Dark magazines, taken in his New York studio and Paris from 1976-1980. This work is signed on the front and framed. It was acquired from the Palm Springs Art Museum, where it was donated by the artist. The verso of the frame bears the works title, original year in felt tip marker, and the artist's studio stamp with copyright of 2007 (year printed) Another example of this work was exhibited at the Palm Springs Art Museum and a different example is part of the Michael Childers collection at the Las Vegas Art Museum Measurements: Artwork (visible): 7 x 9 7/8 inches Frame: 12 x 15 x .4 inches Michael Childers Biography: Since the 1960s, Michael Childers has been photographing famous people...

Richard Corman Jean-Michel Basquiat 1984 (Red), 2020 Offset lithograph poster on color archival pigment paper Signed and numbered 2/100 by Richard Corman in silver sharpie on the fro...

Richard Corman Jean-Michel Basquiat VI: A Portrait, 1984, 2018 Gelatin silver print Signed, titled, dated and numbered 4/30 by Richard Corman in marker on the reverse 20 × 16 inches...

Philip Pearlstein The Complete Paintings, 1984 Hardback monograph with dust jacket Hand signed, dated and inscribed to Nadine by Philip Pearlstein 12 × 10 1/2 × 1 3/4 inches This i...

Andy Warhol Nicola (Nicky) Weymouth, ca. 1976 Acetate positive, acquired directly from Chromacomp, Inc. Andy Warhol's printer in the 1970s. Accompanied by a Letter of Provenance from the representative of Chromacomp Unique Frame included: Elegantly framed in a museum quality white wood frame with UV plexiglass: Measurements: Frame: 18 x 15.5 x 1.5 inches Acetate: 11 x 8 inches This is the original, unique photographic acetate positive taken by Andy Warhol as the basis for his portrait of Nicky Weymouth, that came from Andy Warhol's studio, The Factory to his printer. It was acquired directly from Chromacomp, Inc. Andy Warhol's printer in the 1970s. It is accompanied by a Letter of Provenance from the representative of Chromacomp. This is one of the images used by Andy Warhol to create his iconic portrait of the socialite Nicola Samuel Weymouth, also called Nicky Weymouth, Nicky Waymouth, Nicky Lane Weymouth or Nicky Samuel. Weymouth (nee Samuel) was a British socialite, who went on to briefly marry the jewelry designer Kenneth Lane, whom she met through Warhol. This acetate positive is unique, and was sent to Chromacomp because Warhol was considering making a silkscreen out of this portrait. As Bob Colacello, former Editor in Chief of Interview magazine (and right hand man to Andy Warhol), explained, "many hands were involved in the rather mechanical silkscreening process... but only Andy in all the years I knew him, worked on the acetates." An acetate is a photographic negative or positive transferred to a transparency, allowing an image to be magnified and projected onto a screen. As only Andy worked on the acetates, it was the last original step prior to the screenprinting of an image, and the most important element in Warhol's creative process for silkscreening. Warhol realized the value of his unique original acetates like this one, and is known to have traded the acetates for valuable services. This acetate was brought by Warhol to Eunice and Jackson Lowell, owners of Chromacomp, a fine art printing studio in NYC, and was acquired directly from the Lowell's private collection. During the 1970s and 80s, Chromacomp was the premier atelier for fine art limited edition silkscreen prints; indeed, Chromacomp was the largest studio producing fine art prints in the world for artists such as Andy Warhol, Leroy Neiman, Erte, Robert Natkin, Larry Zox, David Hockney and many more. All of the plates were done by hand and in some cases photographically. Famed printer Alexander Heinrici worked for Eunice & Jackson Lowell at Chromacomp and brought Andy Warhol in as an account. Shortly after, Warhol or his workers brought in several boxes of photographs, paper and/or acetates and asked Jackson Lowell to use his equipment to enlarge certain images or portions of images. Warhol made comments and or changes and asked the Lowells to print some editions; others were printed elsewhere. Chromacomp Inc. ended up printing Warhol's Mick Jagger Suite and the Ladies & Gentlemen Suite, as well as other works, based on the box of photographic acetates that Warhol brought to them. The Lowell's allowed the printer to be named as Alexander Heinrici rather than Chromacomp, since Heinrici was the one who brought the account in. Other images were never printed by Chromacomp- they were simply being considered by Warhol. Warhol left the remaining acetates with Eunice and Jackson Lowell. After the Lowells closed the shop, the photographs were packed away where they remained for nearly a quarter of a century. This work is exactly as it was delivered from the factory. Unevenly cut by Warhol himself. This work is accompanied by a signed letter of provenance from the representative of Chromacomp, Andy Warhol's printer for many of his works in the 1970s. About Andy Warhol: Isn’t life a series of images that change as they repeat themselves? —Andy Warhol Andy Warhol’s (1928–1987) art encapsulates the 1960s through the 1980s in New York. By imitating the familiar aesthetics of mass media, advertising, and celebrity culture, Warhol blurred the boundaries between his work and the world that inspired it, producing images that have become as pervasive as their sources. Warhol grew up in a working-class suburb of Pittsburgh. His parents were Slovak immigrants, and he was the only member of his family to attend college. He entered the Carnegie Institute of Technology (now Carnegie Mellon University) in 1945, where he majored in pictorial design. After graduation, he moved to New York with fellow student Philip Pearlstein and found steady work as a commercial illustrator at several magazines, including Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, and the New Yorker. Throughout the 1950s Warhol enjoyed a successful career as a commercial artist, winning several commendations from the Art Directors Club and the American Institute of Graphic Arts. He had his first solo exhibition at the Hugo Gallery in 1952, showing drawings based on the writings of Truman Capote; three years later his work was included in a group show at the Museum of Modern Art for the first time. The year 1960 marked a turning point in Warhol’s prolific career. He painted his first works based on comics and advertisements, enlarging and transferring the source images onto canvas using a projector. In 1961 Warhol showed these hand-painted works, including Little King (1961) and Saturday’s Popeye (1961), in a window display at the department store Bonwit Teller; in 1962 he painted his famous Campbell’s Soup Cans, thirty-two separate canvases, each depicting a canned soup of a different flavor. Soon after, Warhol began to borrow not only the subject matter of printed media, but the technology as well. Incorporating the silkscreen technique, he created grids of stamps, Coca-Cola bottles, shipping and handling labels, dollar bills, coffee labels...

Michael Childers Andy Warhol in New York, 1976, 2007 Photographic print Signed and numbered 8/60 on the front in black felt tip marker Frame included ...

Sabine Weiss Alberto Giacometti dans son Atelier, 1954 (Giacometti in his studio), ca. 1970 Gelatin silver print mounted on paper Signed in graphite by Sabine Weiss on the mount directly underneath the photograph Frame Included This now iconic photograph of Alberto Giacometti in his studio was taken in 1954 by the celebrated photographer Sabine Weiss, who at the time, had unparalleled access to the artist. It was printed ca. 1970 and signed on the mount directly underneath the photograph in a limited edition of an undisclosed size. Highly collectible. Elegantly matted and framed in a museum quality wood frame with UV plexiglass. Measurements: Framed 18 x 14.5 x 1.25 inches Photograph 12.5 x 8.75 inches Sabine Weiss biography: For over sixty years, Sabine Weiss’s name has been synonymous with the seminal era of French Humanist photography. A living legend, Weiss’s images from 1950s Paris speak of a postwar time when a feeling of hope and joie de vivre could be felt in the people populating the city’s cafes, squares, streets, and in all corners throughout Paris. Weiss would photograph individuals going about their daily lives capturing their emotions and creating a style that combined spontaneity and informality, backed by photographer’s intuition and knack for seeing and celebrating the simple joys of life. As she said, “I take photographs to hold on to the ephemeral, capture chance, keep an image of something that will disappear: gestures, attitudes, objects that are reminders of our brief lives. The camera picks them up and freezes them at the very moment that they disappear. I love this constant dialogue between myself, my camera and my subject, which is what differentiates me from certain other photographers, who don’t seek this dialogue and prefer to distance themselves from their subject.” Originally from Switzerland, Weiss moved to Paris in 1946 where she first assisted fashion photographer Willy...

Michael Childers Andy Warhol in his studio, 1987, 2007 Photographic print Hand Signed on the lower right front in black felt tip marker Frame Included This is one of a series of port...