ANONYMOUS
ALVIN ARMSTRONG
GIL BLANK
RAYMOND BOISJOLY
EDWARD BURTYNSKY
BLAINE CAMPBELL
DANA CLAXTON
MARK DION
STAN DOUGLAS
DAN GRAHAM
FRED HERZOG
JANICE KERBEL
ROBERT KEZIERE
LOUISE LAWLER
EADWEARD MUYBRIDGE
JAMES NASMYTH
DICK OULTON
ISABELLE PAUWELS
SELWYN PULLAN
W EUGENE SMITH
MARK SOO
SIMON STARLING
PAUL STRAND
DEREK SULLIVAN
LARRY SULTAN
MIROSLAV TICHÝ
JAMIE TOLAGSON
LARRY TOWELL
HOWARD URSULIAK
DAVID WISDOM

W EUGENe SMITH
Women gather to mourn an old man’s death, 1950

from the series "Spanish Village"
hand-pulled dust-grain photogravure
image: 20 cm x 30.2 cm

ESTIMATE: $750-1,200

William Eugene Smith (1918-1978) was a legendary photojournalist who worked most notably for Life Magazine and Magnum photo agency, and was well known as a photographer who would take almost any chance if it meant getting the picture. Fanatically dedicated to his mission as a photographer, Smith was a crucial part of the development of the genre of the photo essay as an expressive and significant journalistic entity of its own—indeed redefining the terms of photojournalism itself on many levels. His fiery passion for truth and the integrity of the picture often invariably landed him in trouble: he left Life in 1953 over a disagreement about their handling of his work for an assignment. Among his many accomplishments, Smith was awarded two Guggenheim Fellowships and a key position in Edward Steichen’s influential exhibition Family of Man at the Museum of Modern Art, New York in 1955. This powerful image is from one of Smith’s most famous photographic essays.