This photograph shows Virginia Oldoini, Countess de Castiglione (1837-1899), who, in concert with several Parisian photographers, created a remarkable body of self-portraiture that defied the conventions of her day. A colorful and imposing character, the Countess was Naploleon III’s mistress and a flamboyant fixture in the upper echelon of Parisian society. Fueled by a profound self-regard, the Countess had her photographic portrait made countless times. Pierre Apraxine, the acknowledged authority on photographs of the Countess, writes that her collaboration with Pierson was especially fruitful, as the photographer apparently catered to her every demand: ‘In a reversal of the roles, the sitter would direct every aspect of the picture, from the angle of the shot to the lighting, using the photographer as a mere tool in her pursuit of self-absorbed, exhibitionist fantasies' (The Waking Dream, p. 339). The Metropolitan Museum of Art houses the largest collection of images of the Countess. Taken as a whole, the Countess’s images show a woman with a nuanced understanding of photography’s ability to manufacture and perpetuate fame.
Lots 274 to 278 in the present auction come from the collection of pioneering gallerist Brent Sikkema (1948-2024). Sikkema was renowned for championing the work of some of the principal artists of the late 20th and early 21st centuries, including Kara Walker, Vik Muniz, Mark Bradford, Deana Lawson, and many others, and for broadening the market for Latin American art.
Mr. Sikkema studied photography and filmmaking at the San Francisco Art Institute. After earning his BFA in 1970 he became director of traveling exhibitions, and later director of exhibitions, at the Visual Studies Workshop, the groundbreaking photographic collective in Rochester, New York. In 1976 he relocated to Boston where he worked for Vision Gallery, handling 19th and 20th century photography, later becoming its owner and maintaining an adventurous curatorial program. He made his first foray into the New York City gallery world in 1989, exhibiting in a temporary space. He opened a permanent gallery in 1991; called Wooster Gardens, it quickly became known as a premiere venue for contemporary art. In 1999, Sikkema moved the gallery to Chelsea, partnering with Michael Jenkins under the name Sikkema Jenkins & Co. Sikkema’s generous support inspired loyalty in the artists in his stable, many of whom chose to remain with the gallery even after receiving invitations from the larger mega-galleries.
Phillips is honored to be handling material from his estate. In addition to the photographs offered here, work from his collection will be featured in upcoming Editions and Design auctions this fall.
