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Lot 2129: MARGARET BOURKE-WHITE Farming 1937 vintage

Est: $1,000 USD - $2,000 USDPassed
Andrew Smith Gallery Photography Auctions, LLCTucson, AZ, USFebruary 06, 2021

Item Overview

Description

MARGARET BOURKE-WHITE, Crops, c. 1937, 7.3x9.625" gelatin silver print, Printed c. 1939, stamped in red ink on print verso: Photo by Margaret Bourke White; inscribed in pencil: PAC 8,6,3

Bourke-White emphasized the good work of farm laborers, whether in America or abroad.

Margaret Bourke-White (1904-1971) was a pioneering figure in 20th century documentary photography and is famous for her scenes of modern industry, the Great Depression, and political and social movements in the 1920s through 1950s. Born in New York in 1904, Bourke-White attended Columbia University to study under renowned photographer Clarence White. In 1927 she moved to Cleveland, the heartland of American industry, and opened her own studio. There she documented the effects of modern industry on the land and people. In 1929 Bourke-White became the first staff photographer employed by Fortune magazine. In keeping with her groundbreaking work in the United States, Bourke-White obtained permission in 1930 to enter the Soviet Union to document industrialization under the Communist regime...When Bourke-White returned home to the United States she developed a greater sympathy for the suffering of the American worker. In 1934, on assignment for  Fortune magazine, she set off to document the effects of the Dust Bowl in Oklahoma and other Great Plains states. She created a photographic essay of the migration from this region at the height of the Great Depression and in 1936 published these images in a volume entitled You Have Seen Their Faces.

In 1930, Margaret Bourke-White became the first foreign photographer to have unlimited access to the Soviet Union. In a 1935 poll she was named one of the 20 most notable American women, and in 1936, was named one of ten. 1936 also marked a changed in her career.

While working in the Soviet Union recording the industrialization, Bourke-White began to notice the people. Although she was not equipped emotionally to record their lives, it lay the groundwork for future images. Her turn to social documentary led her to Erskine Caldwell, the author of Tobacco Road.

Erskine Caldwell was looking for a photographer to accompany him on a trip to the South where he was going to write a second book. As a strong, independent woman working by herself, Bourke-White was not quite ready to accept orders. Almost as soon as the trip began, Caldwell called it off because the two were not getting along. However, the book was important to Bourke-White -- she needed it for her career and was willing to do anything. The result was You Have Seen Their Faces, which was published in 1937. In the meantime, LIFE magazine had begun to form, and Bourke-White was one of the first photographers to be called. Her first assignment was to cover the Public Works Administration dam project in Montana.

Although Bourke-White had vowed to never fall in love again after her horrible marriage with Everett "Chappie" Chapman, Erskine Caldwell somehow caught her off guard and the two fell in love while on their trip to the South. They moved to a New York apartment, but Bourke-White was busy with her assignments with LIFE, (including a May 30, 1938 story on Czechoslovakia). They produced another book together, North of the Danube. It covered Czechoslovakia and how it was falling under the reign of the Nazis. By this time Caldwell wanted Bourke-White to marry him, but she would not agree. She wrote in her autobiography, "It is often said that a woman is most strongly drawn to the man who needs her the most. I had always considered myself too selfish to be governed by such a motive. But there must be something to it." And with that, they were finally married in February 1939. She continued to travel with LIFE but soon after her marriage the magazine was printing very few of her photographs and her husband wanted her home.

Credit:

Artist or Maker

Condition Report

Very Good. Corner/edge wear.

Notes

$60 shipping

Payment & Shipping

Payment

Accepted forms of payment: American Express, MasterCard, Personal Check, Visa, Wire Transfer

Shipping

In House Shipping/Insurance: The Gallery has in house shipping available. Flat rate shipping including transit insurance charges are listed on each Lot for FedEx Ground shipping in the lower 48 States of USA. Shipping costs to Alaska, Hawaii and foreign countries will be quoted individually. Buyers are responsible for all taxes, customs fees and VAT that may apply to their purchase and shipment. Please provide a correct street address, email address and telephone number for our shipper in order to expedite the receipt of your purchase. All items are tracked and require a signature on delivery. Items not removed or shipped from our warehouse after 30 days will be subject to a storage charge. Shipment generally occurs within ten business days after payment has been received.


Pickup at the Gallery is available by appointment beginning February 10, 2021. Buyers may make their own arrangements for shipping with pick-up at the Gallery by their designated shipping agent.

Auction Details

Terms

Live bidding may start higher or lower

Buyer's Premium

$1 - 100,000:27.0%
$100,001 - 1,000,000:20.0%
$1,000,001+:18.0%

Bidding Increments

From:To:Increment:
$0$199$20
$200$499$50
$500$999$100
$1,000$4,999$250
$5,000$9,999$500
$10,000$19,999$1,000
$20,000$49,999$2,500
$50,000$99,999$5,000
$100,000$249,999$10,000
$250,000$499,999$10,000
$500,000+$25,000

Terms & Conditions of Sale Feb 6, 2021

Andrew Smith Gallery Photography Auctions LLC. is pleased to present an auction of EXPLORATION, ARTISTIC, DOCUMENTARY AND HISTORIC PHOTOGRAPHY from the TERRESTRIAL to the CELESTIAL.

Andrew Smith Gallery Photography Auctions, LLC. (Hereinafter also Gallery or Auctioneer) Terms and Conditions for this auction are listed below for the Sale of EXPLORATION, ARTISTIC, DOCUMENTARY AND HISTORIC PHOTOGRAPHY from the TERRESTRIAL to the CELESTIAL to take place on Invaluable platform Saturday FEBRUARY 6, 2021 9:00am California Time.

1. Bidders Bound by These Terms and Conditions of Sale set forth here are the complete and only terms and conditions on which all property is offered for sale. By registering and/or bidding on Invaluable or by written absentee or telephone bid, or by any other means, the buyer agrees to be bound by these Conditions of Sale.

2. Sole Remedy for buyer in event of a dispute or any other issue. The buyer's sole remedy under these Terms and Conditions of Sale shall be the rescission of the sale and refund of the original purchase price paid for the item, less shipping and handling, and this remedy shall be exclusive and in lieu of any other remedy which might otherwise be available to the buyer as a matter of law.

3. Right to Withdraw Lots, Errors and Omissions. Gallery reserves the right to withdraw any property at any time before the auction and shall have no liability whatsoever for such withdrawal. Offerings in this catalog are subject to errors or omissions in descriptions.

4. Hammer Price or Sale Price. The Hammer Price or Sale Price is the price at which a lot is sold or hammered down by the Auctioneer. On the fall of the auctioneer's hammer, title to the offered lot or article will pass to the highest acknowledged bidder, who thereupon immediately assumes full risk and responsibility and will within 72 hours pay the full Purchase Price. Any items unpaid after 30 days are no longer for sale7

5. Purchase Price. The purchase price paid by the winning bidder is the aggregate of (a) the hammer price or sale price, (b) a Buyers Premium of 27% (twenty-seven percent) of the first $100,000.00 of the Hammer prices of each lot and a Buyers Premium of 20% (twenty Percent) of any amount of the Hammer price between $100,000 and $1,000,000.00 and 18% (eighteen percent) of any amount above this last amount plus any applicable, shipping, insurance, handling and processing and Tax.

Arizona State Tax in the amount of 8.77% will be charged on all sales to buyers who are 1) Not Exempt by virtue of being a reseller and Gallery has a Certificate of Resale on file by the time payment is made; 2) Not Exempt by virtue of being a non-profit or government entity and Gallery has a Certificate of Exemption on file by the time payment is received; 3) Live in one of 5 states that does not charge State Tax, those states being New Hampshire, Oregon, Montana, Alaska or Delaware or 4) Who are buying from outside of the USA.

6. F.O. B. Arizona is an Origin Based State. All purchases are F.O.B. Tucson, Arizona.

7. Disputes Between Bidders Bids Delayed/Not Received. If any dispute arises between two or more bidders, the Auctioneer may decide the sale or may immediately put the lot up for sale again, and resell to the highest bidder. The decision of the Auctioneer shall be final and absolute. The Auctioneer reserves the right to reject any and all bids. Live Auctioneers bids are executed with and against outside competing telephone and absentee bids. In the case of ties, the auctioneer has sole and final discretion to determine the successful bidder. In the event of any dispute between bidders or in the event the auctioneer doubts the validity of any bid, the auctioneer shall have sole and final discretion either to determine the successful bidder or to re-offer and resell the article in dispute. If any dispute arises after the sale, our sales records shall be conclusive in every respect. It has been our brief experience on Invaluable that we did not receive bids on 2 of 54 lots (3.7%) sold on Invaluable within 35 seconds after the bidder had submitted bid, so if the bidding is critical please submit your highest bids via absentee bidding with Invaluable or the Gallery.

8. Withdraw Lots. Gallery reserves the absolute right (a) to withdraw any property at any time before its actual final sale, including during the bidding, and (b) to refuse any bid from any bidder. The Auctioneer is the sole judge as to the amount to be advanced by each succeeding bid.

9. All Lots Sold "AS IS". Neither the Gallery nor Auctioneer nor Consignor make any express or implied warranties or representations with respect to the property or correctness of the advertisement, catalog, Lot descriptions and any other medium used to announce this auction or any other description of the physical condition, attribution, provenance, genuineness, description, condition of the property, estimate of value, quality, importance, size or authenticity of the property offered and described either online or via telephone, text, email or any other communication.

10. Condition: A condition report may be obtained by viewing the online catalog, or you may contact the Gallery. Not withstanding any condition reports or catalog descriptions provided, all lots are offered and sold AS IS In most cases, we describe the quality of the impression of the print. We have never seen perfect prints as they can have wipe marks and abrasions made by the photographer etc. Our Rankings relate to both 1) tone and richness of the print and 2) physical condition. These subjective criteria are then combined for the final subjective ranking designation based on the many thousands of prints Andrew Smith has seen. Handling marks are dents in the print from being handled by the photographer or others. They can be small moon-shaped-crescents to splits in the emulsion. As our condition grades go down from Excellent to Fair the handling marks noted in those descriptions go from minor visual impairments with no damage to emulsion to major visual impairments with damaged emulsion.

Excellent: Tones Richness is 9-10 on a scale of 10. The print may include minor wear, light abrasions and other flaws generally visible only in raking light and not impacting the visual enjoyment of the print. Mounts and margins can have other problems and the print can still be excellent. Normal wear is expected on all older prints, on the emulsion and to edges or corners of mounts/prints.

Very Good: Tones Richness is 7- 8 on a scale of 10 with minor to mild wear. Mild wear indicates there may be some visual impact, small abrasion, scuffs, spots bent corner that can be matted out, stain or handling mark. It has very little negative impact on the visual enjoyment of the print.

Good: Tones Richness is 5-6 on a scale of 10. Yellowing, Shifting color tones, fading, or perhaps a very rich print with more severe wear - noticeable abrasions, stains, scuffs or handling marks as well as deterioration of the historic original mounts.

Fair: Condition issues or fading are noticeable might have physical conditions such as moderate abrasions, scuffs, staining, small emulsion loss, handling dents etc. that affect the print.

11. Estimates: Low Estimate is the lowest price at which multiple buyers would expect to find a shopping bargain. High Estimate is what a dealer might pay for the print when buying for resale.

12. No Reserve Auction: There is no reserve above the starting price.

13. Bidding Increments:
$20 increments up to $200
$50 increments to $500
$100 increments to $1,000
$250 increments to $5,000
$500 increments to $10,000
$1,000 increments to $20,000
$2,500 increments to $50,000
$5,000 increments to $100,000
$10,000 increments to $250,000
$25,000 increments to $500,000

14. Copyright: Neither the Gallery nor Auctioneer nor Consignor make any representations whatsoever that the Purchaser of a work of art will acquire any reproduction rights thereto and copyright to work. Purchaser's ownership of the work shall remain subject to the copyrights of the artist.

15. Amending Catalog, Entire Agreement: This on-line catalog may be amended 2 hours before posting time and represents Andrew Smith Gallery Photography Auctions LLC (Gallery) entire agreement with any and all Purchasers of the property listed herein.

16. Absentee Bids: Absentee bids for Auction Lots will be executed by the Gallery on behalf of the Client during the auction. The Gallery shall not be responsible for any errors or omissions or failure to execute such absentee bids. To reduce the chance of error, the Gallery requests the Client make absentee bidding arrangements as soon as possible. Every effort will be made to carry out the bidder's instructions, but Gallery shall in no event be responsible for failing correctly to carry out instructions, and Gallery reserves the right to decline to undertake such bids. Bids by mail should be made in U.S. or the Bid Sheet available directly from the Andrew Smith Gallery website. The gallery recommends all bidding be done on the Invaluable platform directly.

17. Credit Card for Absentee Bids; A valid major credit card number will be required in order to execute absentee bids with authorization to charge 30% of the high bid amount to a valid credit card upon submitting the bid forms; if unsuccessful, the deposit will be returned; if successful the deposit will be applied to the purchase price.

18. Institutional Buyers may make separate payment arrangements to coincide with their fiscal year planning. These arrangements must be discussed and approved prior to the auction.

19. Terms for Payments on all Purchases: All payments on lots that are taxed must be made to the Invaluable payments system. If you are exempt from taxes payment may be made directly to Andrew Smith Gallery Photography Auctions LLC.
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Accepted by the Gallery are cash, wire transfe, personal check, Visa, MasterCard, American Express. Arizona State Tax in the amount of 8.77% will be charged on all sales to buyers who are 1) Not Exempt by virtue of being a reseller and Gallery has a Certificate of Resale on file by the time payment is made; 2) Not Exempt by virtue of being a non-profit or government entity and Gallery has a Certificate of Exemption on file by the time payment is received; 3) Live in one of 5 states that does not charge State Tax, those states being New Hampshire, Oregon, Montana, Alaska or Delaware; or 4) Who are buying from outside of the USA.

All monies shall be made payable to Andrew Smith Gallery Photography Auctions, LLC. At the Gallery's discretion, payment will not be deemed to be complete until funds represented by checks or credit cards have been processed by Gallery's bank, usually within 1-3 days.

20. In House Shipping/Insurance: The Gallery has in house shipping available. Flat rate shipping including transit insurance charges are listed on each Lot for FedEx Ground shipping in the lower 48 States of USA. Shipping costs to Alaska, Hawaii and foreign countries will be quoted individually. Buyers are responsible for all taxes, customs fees and VAT that may apply to their purchase and shipment. Please provide a correct street address, email address and telephone number for our shipper in order to expedite the receipt of your purchase. All items are tracked and require a signature on delivery. Items not removed or shipped from our warehouse after 30 days will be subject to a storage charge. Shipment generally occurs within ten business days after payment has been received.


21. Pickup at the Gallery is available by appointment beginning February 10, 2021. Buyers may make their own arrangements for shipping with pick-up at the Gallery by their designated shipping agent.

22. Authenticity of Work Return: A condition report may be obtained by viewing the online catalog or by contacting the Gallery. Not withstanding any condition reports or catalog descriptions provided, all lots are offered and sold AS IS in accordance with paragraph 9 of the Procedures, Terms and Conditions of Auction. However, if within 21 calendar days after the receipt of the purchase of any lot, as long as the art was received within 30 calendar days of the Auction date, the purchaser provides two opinions by recognized authorities on the artist, and gives notice in writing to the Gallery that the lot is not authentic, and within 7 calendar days of such notice the purchaser returns the lot to the Gallery in the same condition as when sold, the Gallery will refund the full purchase price. 24. Limitation of Rights. Any right of the purchaser under this agreement or under the law shall not be assignable and shall be enforceable only by the original purchaser and not by any subsequent owner or any person who shall subsequently acquire any interest. No purchaser shall be entitled to any remedy, relief or damages beyond return of the property, rescission of the sale and refund of the purchase price; and without limitation, no purchaser shall be entitled to damages of any kind.

23. Remedies: These Procedures, Terms and Conditions of Auction and any other applicable conditions, as well as the Purchasers and Gallery's rights and obligations herein shall be governed by, construed and enforced in accordance with the laws of the State of Arizona. Purchases that have gone unpaid thirty days (30 calendar days after the sale are past due and subject to any or all of the following including without limitation the right a) Upon purchase, property is held for sale and payment for 30 days. If unpaid after 30 days the property is no longer for sale; (b) Dispute the purchase on the Auction Platform; (c) hold the Purchaser liable for the purchase price stated on the invoice; (d) cancel the sale and retain as liquidated damages any and all payments made by the Purchaser; (e) resell the property privately or at public auction on three days notice to the Purchaser for the payment of any deficiency in the purchase price and all costs including handling charges, warehousing, the commissions, attorney's fees, any and all other auction-related charges due and incidental damages. In the event of a default, the Gallery reserves the right to charge the Purchaser's credit card on file in the full amount owed as stated on the invoice. .

24. Full Payment Non Transferable: In order to prevent inaccuracy in delivery or inconvenience in the settlement of a purchase, no lot can be transferred. Each buyer must pay for the whole of his purchases before any lot can be removed.

25. Not Assignable: The benefits of these warranties are not assignable and are applicable only to the original buyer of the lot, and are conditioned on the buyer returning the work in the same condition as at time of sale and in the time period specified.

26. Misc: Dimensions are given in inches, with height preceding width in all cases. For prints, if the margins are known or believed to be full this is stated. Illustrations in the catalogue are for identification only and should not be used as a basis for determining the condition of the lot. First Date used in the lot description entries refers to the creation of the negative or original electronic capture; a second date, which often follows the medium or size, indicates the approximate print date. The term "signed" means that, in our opinion, the signature is by the artist.

Shipping Terms

In House Shipping/Insurance: The Gallery has in house shipping available. Flat rate shipping including transit insurance charges are listed on each Lot for FedEx Ground shipping in the lower 48 States of USA. Shipping costs to Alaska, Hawaii and foreign countries will be quoted individually. Buyers are responsible for all taxes, customs fees and VAT that may apply to their purchase and shipment. Please provide a correct street address, email address and telephone number for our shipper in order to expedite the receipt of your purchase. All items are tracked and require a signature on delivery. Items not removed or shipped from our warehouse after 30 days will be subject to a storage charge. Shipment generally occurs within ten business days after payment has been received.


Pickup at the Gallery is available by appointment beginning February 10, 2021. Buyers may make their own arrangements for shipping with pick-up at the Gallery by their designated shipping agent.

Buyers Premium

On all Purchases a Buyers Premium will be applied in the amount of 27% (twenty-seven percent) of the first $100,000.00 of the Hammer prices of each lot and a Buyers Premium of 20% (twenty Percent) of any amount of the Hammer price between $100,000 and $1,000,000.00 and 18% (eighteen percent) of any amount above this

Arizona Tax Unless Exempt

Arizona State Tax in the amount of 8.77% will be charged on all sales to buyers who are 1) Not Exempt by virtue of being a reseller and Gallery has a Certificate of Resale on file by the time payment is made; 2) Not Exempt by virtue of being a non-profit or government entity and Gallery has a Certificate of Exemption on file by the time payment is received; 3) Live in one of 5 states that does not charge State Tax, those states being New Hampshire, Oregon, Montana, Alaska or Delaware or 4) Who are buying from outside of the USA.

Condition

All Lots Sold "AS IS". Neither the Gallery nor Auctioneer nor Consignor make any express or implied warranties or representations with respect to the property or correctness of the advertisement, catalog, Lot descriptions and any other medium used to announce this auction or any other description of the physical condition, attribution, provenance, genuineness, description, condition of the property, estimate of value, quality, importance, size or authenticity of the property offered and described either online or via telephone, text, email or any other communication.

Condition: A condition report may be obtained by viewing the online catalog, or you may contact the Gallery. Not withstanding any condition reports or catalog descriptions provided, all lots are offered and sold AS IS In most cases, we describe the quality of the impression of the print. We have never seen perfect prints as they can have wipe marks and abrasions made by the photographer etc. Our Rankings relate to both 1) tone and richness of the print and 2) physical condition. These subjective criteria are then combined for the final subjective ranking designation based on the many thousands of prints Andrew Smith has seen. Handling marks are dents in the print from being handled by the photographer or others. They can be small moon-shaped-crescents to splits in the emulsion. As our condition grades go down from Excellent to Fair the handling marks noted in those descriptions go from minor visual impairments with no damage to emulsion to major visual impairments with damaged emulsion.

Excellent: Tones Richness is 9-10 on a scale of 10. The print may include minor wear, light abrasions and other flaws generally visible only in raking light and not impacting the visual enjoyment of the print. Mounts and margins can have other problems and the print can still be excellent. Normal wear is expected on all older prints, on the emulsion and to edges or corners of mounts/prints.

Very Good: Tones Richness is 7- 8 on a scale of 10 with minor to mild wear. Mild wear indicates there may be some visual impact, small abrasion, scuffs, spots bent corner that can be matted out, stain or handling mark. It has very little negative impact on the visual enjoyment of the print.

Good: Tones Richness is 5-6 on a scale of 10. Yellowing, Shifting color tones, fading, or perhaps a very rich print with more severe wear - noticeable abrasions, stains, scuffs or handling marks as well as deterioration of the historic original mounts.

Fair: Condition issues or fading are noticeable might have physical conditions such as moderate abrasions, scuffs, staining, small emulsion loss, handling dents etc. that affect the print.