A Preview of Major Fall Shows, Auctions and Fairs

Man Ray Pablo Picasso Joan Miro Laura Letinsky Fall Forecast You Can't Take It With You The Hit Parade On Solid Ground

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London: Summer Scenes

“The Living Is Easy” at Flowers East through Sept. 10 is a portfolio exhibition of international contemporary photography on the subject of summer in its diverse manifestations—and what could be more timely in the heat of this particular summer?

Curated by Di Pooley, the work is drawn from all over the world. Affectionate portraits of street fashionistas in their summer attire in Johannesburg, owing nothing to the dictates of the catwalk and everything to individual creative imagination, are by Lolo Veleko.

Laura Letinsky’s Untitled #80 is particularly beautiful—a portrait of a table with the detritus of a meal scattered over a white tablecloth.

And from Robert Polidori, there are two terrific portraits of interiors—which exhibit just as much spontaneous creative imagination as Veleko’s fashionistas, but applied to the private environment. 

These are all observational images, seemingly straightforward recordings of summertime life, that share the qualities of freshness and surprise. Most are in small editions of eight or 10, and some are unique.

Paris: Major Auction of the Works of Brassaï, the "Eye" of the City

Aficionados of rare and beautiful vintage photographs chronicling an earlier age—specifically the night life of Paris between the wars—will receive a rare treat in “The Eye of Paris at Auction,” coming up on Oct. 2 and 3 in Paris at Millon & Associés at Drouot.

This exceptional sale from the estate of Brassaï includes at least 750 of his photographs, maquettes, drawings and sculptures, including Brassaïs most legendary photographs in both vintage prints—which he made himself—and in the larger prints made for exhibitions between 1955 and 1960. (And with estimates ranging from €200 to €80,000, the auction offers work for collectors of at all levels.)

Brassai ranks up there with Man Ray, Kertesz and Cartier-Bresson as one of the truly great photographers of the 20th century. Born in Transylvania, Brassai relocated to Berlin after the First World War, where he moved in an artistic circle that included Kandinsky and Kokoschka. He came to Paris in 1924 and, after meeting the photographer Atget, he produced his first photographs in 1929—the product of his night wanderings around the dives, brothels and clubs privées of Paris.

He developed his glass plates himself and made his own prints, which is why they have always been highly prized. In 1932, Henry Miller wrote his first text on Brassai (it was published in 1938) with the title Brassai: L’Oeil de Paris, which celebrated their night-time wanderings through some of the murkiest parts of Paris.

This sale groups these photographs by theme: the “Night” series will be the most seriously sought-after, as these are the most familiar images from Paris de Nuit, originally published in 1932: photos of the city's bars, brothels, les Folies Bergeres, etc. The "Day" series includes images of the South of France, nudes, the circus and animals. Another series is devoted to his photographs of artists in their studios, including Picasso, Miro, Dali and Maillol.

Individual highlights include Le Couple d’Amoureux au Bal des Quatre Saisons, Rue de Lappe (1932), estimate €15,000-€20,000; Pavés (1931) from the cover of Paris by Night, estimate €30,000-€40,000; and Le Baiser (1937), estimate €10,000–€15,000.

Expect the entire world of vintage photography collecting and dealing to be crowded into this sale—so no bargains, but an extraordinary opportunity to acquire images that really do sum up a time and a place. View the sale online at www.brassai-succession-million.com.

Paris: FIAC is Back

Paris in the 21st century seems to be waking up from the artistic torpor that has enveloped it since the l960s. The rebirth of FIAC 2006 as a worthwhile contemporary art fair is a case in point. This year, it is back from its rather grim exile at the Porte de Versailles to its traditional home at the now-restored Grand Palais. And for the first time, it is also at the Cour Caree/Louvre.