Mar 21, 2013 - Sale 2308

Sale 2308 - Lot 476

Price Realized: $ 1,062
?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 1,500 - $ 2,500
A FAMOUS IMAGE (MUSIC.) KANE, ART. A Great Day in Harlem. Gelatin Silver print photograph, 16 x 20 inches; some signs on the reverse of having been attached to something at one time, not affecting the integrity of the photograph in any way. New York City, 1958
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an extraordinary gathering of jazz figures, posed in front of a brownstone at 17 East 126th Street, in New York's Harlem. It would be difficult to say who was NOT in this incredible shot. In all there are 57 notable jazz musicians, the like of this gathering has never before or since been equaled. Art Kane, a freelance photographer who was at the time working for Esquire magazine took the photo at 10:00 a.m. on August 12, 1958. Esquire published the photo in their January 1959 issue. Jean Bach, a radio producer from New York recounted the story in her 1994 documentary film "A Great Day in Harlem." The film was nominated for a 1995 Academy Award. As of April of 2012, only 4 of the musicians are still living: Sonny Rollins, Marian McPartland, Benny Golson, and Horace Silver.
The print being offered her seems to have been trimmed for mounting and is lacking about 1-3/4 inches from the left side, taking off Hilton Jefferson, who holds what looks like a record album in his hand. We located two other appearances of this photo with variations on the size of the image on the left side. The original included a man walking toward the group from left to right.