DAVID "CHIM" SEYMOUR (American, 1911-1956). ISRAEL COLLECTION; NINE WORKS, located in Israel; some wIth labels, stamps and inscriptions. Photographs mounted on aluminum - Unframed: 36 in. x. 24 in., each Estimate $2,000-3,000
This collection of framed and panel mounted prints by Robert Capa, Werner Bischoff, David Seymour ("Chim"), Dan Weiner, and Leonard Freed represents of substantial segments of several influential exhibitions on photo-journalism organized in the 1960s by Magnum Photos, the prestigious photojournalists's cooperative, and by the Fund for Concerned Photography in collaborations with the Riverside Museum. Sets of these shows-- Photographs by Robert Capa (1960), Robert Capa War Photographs (1960), The World of Werner Bischof (1961), Chim's Times (1966), and The Concerned Photographer (1967)--were toured by the Smithsonian Institution in the 1960s and early 1970s. This collection consists of the original exhibition panels, as well as both panel-mounted and framed individual prints, used in these touring shows. It was discovered in Puerto Rico in the original Smithsonian shipping crates, after the crates were purchased at a United States Postal Service auction of unclaimed property. Internal evidence suggests that the one-man show exhibition sets may have been cannibalized to assemble or refurbish one or more of the touring sets of The Concerned Photographer (1968), one of the most widely circulated and acclaimed photography exhibitions of the late 1960s.
This material represents five of the six photographers featured in the Concerned Photographer--Werner Bischof, Robert Capa, David Seymour ("Chim"), Leonard Freed, and Dan Weiner; only André Kertesz is missing. It includes some of their most iconic images: Capa's Death of a Loyalist Soldier and D-Day, June 6, 1944; Bischof's Indian Dance; and Seymour's Disturbed Child, Poland, 1949, among many others. Almost all the prints (and notably the majority of the Capas) appear to have been made from the original negatives, many of which were retired a number of years ago. Most of the prints on board and masonite are in relatively good condition, with some minor surface damage or staining. Many of the prints mounted on aluminum panels are virtually pristine but others show damage resulting from corrosion of the aluminum support, which has caused blistering of the emulsion and the extrusion of aluminum oxide crystals onto the surface of the prints mounted on them. Interestingly, a number of the duplicate pairs consist of damaged and undamaged-but otherwise identical-aluminum panels.
The collection consists of aluminum, board, and masonite exhibit panels upon which one or more photographic prints are mounted, as well as individual framed photographic prints, and title, text and acknowledgement panels.
These lots represent segments from several influential exhibition on photojournalism organized in the 1960s by Magnum Photos and by the Fund for Concerned Photography and The Riverside Museum - Photographs by Robert Capa, Robert Capa War Photographs, The World of Werner Bischof, Chim's Times and The Concerned Photographer. These photographs - all gelatin silver prints which appear to have been made from the original negatives - are mounted on aluminum panels. The condition of the material varies. Many of the prints mounted on the aluminum panels are virtually pristine (some staining on the panels where the prints are not mounted; other, however, suffer from a condition of inherent vice caused by corrosion of the aluminum support that has resulted in blistering and scattered delaminating of the emulsions, as well as some extrusion of aluminum oxide crystals onto the surface of the prints. This deterioration, which may have been exacerbated by the environmental conditions in the storage facilities in Puerto Rico, does appear to have been stabilized. Without having consulted a conservator, it is our opinion that the prints can not easily be removed from the mounts. Removal would depend on the adhesive. Since there is no sign of lifting in any of these prints - having been stored in non-climate controlled storage - it is doubtful that the adhesive is water solvable and for that reason may have protected the prints themselves. A possible solution would be to cut down the mounts. The prints are mounted on panels, many times with title, singularly or in groups of two up to five. Some panels contain text - most contain titles.
