artnet Auctions Presents: In the Buff: A Sale of Photographs Celebrating the Male Nude

artnet Auctions is proud to present In the Buff: A Sale of Photographs Celebrating the Male Nude. This sale will include photography showcasing male beauty in all of its forms, by acclaimed photographers such as Robert Mapplethorpe, Herb Ritts, Peter Hujar, Horst P. Horst, George Hoyningen-Huene, Bruce Weber, Larry Clark, Annie Leibovitz, Ryan McGinley, Richard Avedon, and Pierre et Gilles. Works in the sale will range in value from US$2,000 to 65,000.

One of the highlights of the sale is Annie Leibovitz's iconic portrait of Keith Haring (American, 1958-1990), who poses nude but completely covered in body paint so that he blends in with his surroundings. Haring's instantly recognizable artistic style, as well as his bold personality, are memorialized in Leibovitz's photograph, taken just a few years before Haring's death. Keith Haring, New York (1986) is estimated at US$25,000-35,000.

Another highlight of the sale is How Nice to Watch You Take a Bath (1986), a group of five vintage gelatin silver prints by Duane Michals (American, b.1932) estimated at US$10,000-12,000. The sequence of Contemporary photographs shows a man drying himself with a towel after taking a bath. With his back turned away from the camera, this male bather serves as a counterpart to the traditional depiction of female bathers throughout art history.

The sale also includes a number of exceptional photographs by Herb Ritts (American, 1952-2002) and Horst P. Horst (American/German, 1906-1999). Best known for fashion photography, both artists also excelled in photographing the nude form. In the 1940s and 1950s, Horst used classical poses, and dramatic lighting to emphasize the male form. In contrast, Ritts's work from the 1980s also focuses on classical poses and the beauty of the male nude, but his figures are a reflection of the more defined, muscular physique of the male body.

In the Buff: A Sale of Photographs Celebrating the Male Nude is live on artnet Auctions from July 16 through 25, 2013, and on view here.

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For more information about this sale, please contact artnet Auctions specialist:
Susanna Wenniger
Senior Specialist, Photographs
+1-212-497-9700 ext. 172
SWenniger(at)artnet(dot)com

Media Contact:
To receive further information and images, or to arrange interviews, members of the media may contact:
Elizabeth Reina-Longoria or Deirdre Maher
+1-212-675-1800
Elizabeth(at)bluemedium(dot)com or Deirdre(at)bluemedium(dot)com

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With 24/7 worldwide bidding, artnet Auctions is the world's first online auction platform to buy and sell Modern and Contemporary paintings, prints, photographs, sculptures, and more. artnet has been online since 1995, and is host to approximately 2 million visitors each month. Through the artnet Price Database of all auction sales results worldwide since 1985 and artnet Galleries, artnet is the leading online resource for the international art market.

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