New York by Berenice Abbott

Auction : Friday 14 November 2014, 6 pm

Viewing : Saturday 8 November 10 am-6pm | Monday 10 November 10 am-6pm | Tuesday 11 November 10 am-6pm | Wednesday 12 November 10 am-6 pm | Thursday 13 November 10 am-6pm | Friday 14 November 10 am-6pm

eCatalogue: www.christies.com/salelanding/index.aspx?intSaleID=25587

Matthieu Humery, Internat. Director | +33 (0) 1 40 76 85 92 | mhumery@christies.com
Elodie Morel, Head of Sale | +33 (0) 1 40 76 84 16 | emorel@christies.com
Jonas Tebib, Specialist | +33 (0) 1 40 76 84 41 | jtebib@christies.com

To coincide with the Paris Photo international fair, Christie's Paris is proud to present the collection of the former Swiss art dealer Kaspar M. Fleischmann, to be sold in two sessions with the proceeds going to the Center for Studies in Theory and History of Photography at the University of Zürich. The second session on 14 November will be dedicated solely to the American photographer Berenice Abbott, to whom Kaspar M. Fleischmann devoted an exhibition at his gallery in 1979.

This monographic sale brings together 67 views of New York dating from the 1930s. Returning to New York in 1929 after spending a decade in Paris, during which time she became acquainted with Eugène Atget and the work of the Surrealists, Abbott set aside portraiture to focus on the urban landscape in a state of metamorphosis.

Elodie Morel, Head of sale: “We are very honoured by the trust that Mr. Fleischmann has placed in us. This major collection brings together some rare and unique photographs assembled in the course of a life that Kaspar Fleischmann devoted to promoting and arousing interest in photography at a time when it was still almost non-existent.”

The Kaspar M. Fleischmann collection to benefit the University of Zurich photography centre

When Kaspar Fleischmann opened his Zur Stockeregg gallery in 1979, there was still relatively little interest in photography in Europe. He then embarked on a sustained effort to make people aware of this still completely unknown medium; to educate new collectors and develop their awareness of photography. He would organise more than 140 exhibitions during his career as an art dealer, one of the very first of which was devoted to the work of Berenice Abbott.

Fleischmann then concentrated on the work of the great masters of the 20th century so that his gallery became one of the most important in Europe. He helped with the creation of Paris-Photo and with that of the AIPAD Photography show in New York while giving his support to the creation of a Photography section at the Basel Art Fair. An economist and ethologist by training, he made numerous donations to the Zurich Kunsthaus and the Winterthur Fotomuseum. Thanks to the Dr. Carlo Fleischmann foundation, Kaspar Fleischmann made possible the creation of study centre for the theory and history of photography at the University of Zurich Institute of Art History.

The Kaspar M. Fleischmann collection will be dispersed in two sessions and is expected to raise a total of between €2,079,000 and €2,980,000.