dye-transfer print, signed, titled, dated, and annotated in pencil and stamped on the reverse, framed, 1987, printed in 1992, one from an edition of 17 dye-transfer prints

Private collection, Switzerland Christie's New York, 27 April 2004, Sale 1367, Lot 327

Irving Penn, Issey Miyake (New York, 1988) pl. 12 Irving Penn, Passage: A Work Record (New York, 1991), p. 268

Irving Penn and Midori Kitamura, Irving Penn Regards the Work of Issey Miyake: Photographs 1975-1998 (New York, 1999), unpaginated

Midori Kitamura, The Work of Issey Miyake (Cologne, 2016), p. 154

This vibrant dye-transfer print, on double-weight paper, is in generally very good condition. The extreme edges of the image are very slightly darker where the mat covered the photograph. The colors are robust and saturated. There are two isolated, minor areas of soiling in the margins, and some insignificant soiling from handling on the reverse. There are two tiny tears at the left margin edge that do not intrude upon the image in any way. Along the upper edge on the reverse is a hinge remnant, with adjacent small abrasion to the paper-ply. The following is written by the photographer in pencil on the reverse: 'Ref 16942.' In addition to the photographer and the photographer's copyright stamps [annotated '1987' in pencil], other stamps read as follows: 'dye transfer print made [annotated '1992' in pencil]' and 'signed prints of this photograph not exceeding [annotated 17 in pencil].'
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.

'There is in Japanese a word, a-ūn.  It describes a form of communication established when one person throws voiceless messages to another.  I anticipated that our collaboration would have such sympathy.  It would be our unspoken understanding. . . How happy these clothes seem, made alive again by his genius' - Issey Miyake