Phillips is honored to present, in lots 248 through 254, photographs from the collection of Inger and Osborn Elliott. The Elliotts cultivated an art collection worthy of praise in the heart of Manhattan. Their upper east side home served as a jewel box of taste, with brightly colored walls adorned with paintings, photographs, and drawings, all masterfully curated. The couple's diverse collection reflects their devotion to New York City's cultural, intellectual, and civic spheres, while also spanning a global reach of artistic styles and techniques.
Inger and Osborn Elliott. Inger (1933-2024), originally from Norway, had a passion for photojournalism that brought her to Southeast Asia, where she documented the Vietnam War. She photographed for the Rapho Guillemette photo agency, as well as for Vogue, LIFE, Esquire, and Time magazines. She would later go on to found China Seas, a design firm specializing in batik textiles. Osborn (1924-2008), a revolutionary Newsweek editor and social advocate, served as Dean of Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism. Trailblazers in their own regard, the Elliotts amassed a collection including rare, early works by Willem de Kooning, Wassily Kandinsky, and Milton Avery, among those by many other innovative modern and post-war painters, photographers, and printmakers.
Provenance
Swann Auction Galleries, New York, 19 April 2018, lot 96
Literature
Aperture, Bill Brandt, Behind the Camera: Photographs 1928-1983, p. 18
Da Capo Press, Bill Brandt: Shadow of Light, pl. 18
Harry N. Abrams, Inc., Brandt: The Photography of Bill Brandt, pl. 58
Photo Poche, Bill Brandt, pl. 31
Thames & Hudson, Bill Brandt: Photographs 1928-1983, p. 76
Newhall, The History of Photography, p. 225
PROPERTY FROM THE ESTATE OF INGER AND OSBORN ELLIOTT
253
Parlourmaid and Under-Parlourmaid Ready to Serve Dinner
1936
Gelatin silver print, printed later.
13 3/8 x 11 1/2 in. (34 x 29.2 cm)
Signed in ink on the mount.
Estimate
$3,000 - 5,000
Sarah Krueger
Head of Department, Photographs
skrueger@phillips.com
Vanessa Hallett
Worldwide Head of Photographs and Chairwoman, Americas
vhallett@phillips.com
Photographs
New York Auction 9 October 2024
325
This lot is no longer available.
354
This lot is no longer available.
