a unique object, oversized photogram, signed ‘L. Moholy=Nagy’ and dated in pencil on the reverse, framed, 1939

Originally from the collection of Sybil Moholy, the photographer’s wife

Christie's New York, Photographic Masterworks, 23 April 1990, Sale 7054, Lot 38

Private collection, California

Howard Greenberg Gallery, New York, 2007

Herbert Molderings, Floris M. Neusüss, and Renate Heyne, Moholy-Nagy: The Photograms: Catalogue Raisonné (Ostfildern, 2009), fgm 382 (this unique object)

This very large and impressive print is on heavy double-weight paper with a semi-glossy surface. Despite the large size of the composition, there is a great deal of delicacy present in the tonal transitions. Overlapping bands of gray and dark gray suggest that Moholy may have made several exposures to produce this image, or moved his light source during exposure. As one would expect from Moholy's work, this is an image whose complexity becomes more apparent the longer one looks at it. As can sometimes be the case with larger prints by Moholy, this photogram has some condition issues. When examined closely, a crease can be seen in the upper left corner which breaks the emulsion slightly. There is wear and some scattered loss of emulsion on the edges. Some more significant losses along the bottom edge have been retouched somewhat. A small handling crease that breaks the emulsion slightly is visible in the lower left quadrant. A diagonal crease is present in the upper right corner of the print, along which the emulsion is broken slightly. When examined in raking light, some unevenness in the print's finish can be seen, and it is possible that the print was coated with wax or varnish (a not uncommon practice). The wear on the edges, as well as a few losses of the top paper ply on the reverse, suggest that this print may have originally been mounted. The print's edges are tinted orange, suggesting that the print may have been flush-mounted, possibly to thick composition board, and the edges painted. While these condition issues are apparent upon observation, the dynamic quality and visual impact of the print remain very much intact.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Moholy-Nagy returned to making photograms repeatedly throughout his career, and the large and fluid compositions from his Chicago years represent a final flowering of his long experimentation with the process.  The unique object offered here is one of a series of six related images, all oversized, made in Chicago in 1939 (cf. Heyne and Neusüss, fgms 380 – 385).  A circular, perforated wire gauge, a metal tool used for measuring the strength and diameter of wire filaments, is the central motif of each.  

Moholy came to Chicago in 1937 to open an industrial design school—a ‘New Bauhaus,’ as it was first called—and photography was an e♕ssential part of the school’s progressive, open-ended curriculum.  The photogram process offered students an opportunity to grasp the fundamentals of the medium, especially an understanding of the nature of light, and there was no better teacher in this regard than László Moholy-Nagy.  His elegant and technically accomplished cameraless images, with their imaginative designs and range of tonalities, are the work of a practiced master.  Despite the scale of the present object, the tonal transitions are delicate; overlapping bands of gray and dark gray suggest that Moholy may have made several exposures or moved his light source during exposure.  In his expert hands, ordinary objects have become cosmic, sweeping through time as well as space. 

Four of the six photograms from this wire gauge series, each unique, are in institutional collections: the Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris; The Museum of Modern Art, New York; the LaSalle Collection of Baജnk of America, Chicago; and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. ꧙The photogram offered here is one of two from this group that is still in private hands.