The Weekender: Young Collectors

What component of a photograph makes it beautiful to the viewer? Is it its sense of fantasy, mystery, or can it be its lucidness? For me, a great photograph lies in its significant form. Lines and colors combined in a particular way in order to create and stir aesthetic emotions. The photographs of Lillian Brassman evoke all these emotions, In truth, her photography is conceptional, which means that her subject matters are real, but it is strictly abstract. That is a good thing if you’re considering collecting art and willing to start with photography.

Artists like Henri Cartier-Bresson, Jeffrey Conley, and Martine Franck blend in very well with her work. Lillian Bassman is considered one of the last great women fashion photographers. A breed of geniuses, which I hope one day won’t become extinct. Her work is all about high contrasts between light and dark, the graininess of the finished photos and the geometric placement and camera angles of her subjects. Starting a photography collection is certainly a great start for any young collector, and usually, the price point isn’t prohibitive. The Peter Fetterman Gallery in Santa Monica offers a wide variety of some of the most renowned artists, and now, you can view a number of their collections when you visit them at the Winter Antiques Show which is still open to the public at the Park Avenue Armory. The show ends on Sunday, January 29th. Last night, I had the opportunity to go to the Young Collectors Night which offered guests a private viewing of one of the world’s most prestigious antiques, from English, European, and Asian fine art, to decorative arts dating from antiquity through the 1960s. Starting an art collection may not be an easy process, but thankfully, one has many choices to select from, when you visit a fair such as this one.

Lillian Bassman, Barbara Mullen, Flat Hat, Bare Back, c. 1950, gelatin silver print

Above images from Peter Fetterman Gallery