France is marking 200 years of photography, and a November auction in Paris will put more than 350 French prints on the block. The sale spans the medium’s earliest decades through its modernist peak, offering a rich survey of the nation’s photographic legacy.
The story starts in 1826 or 1827, when French inventor Nicéphore Niépce captured View from the Window at Le Gras. That image is widely considered the oldest known photograph made with a camera.
To mark France’s bicentennial of photography, Christie’s will offer more than 350 photographs from the Roger Therond Collection: A French Passion. The works sell across three sales in Paris on November 13 and 14.
Online bidding runs from November 6 to 17. The timing matches Paris Photo, the world’s largest international art fair dedicated to photography.
Beyond the 19th-century pioneers, the medium’s postwar generation also reshaped how photographers saw the world. Frank Horvat’s Early Travel Photography in South Asia shows how one mid-century career was built on journeys that changed his eye.
A collector who looked past the headlines
Roger Therond edited Paris Match for half a century. His magazine covered current events, but his collecting followed a different interest.
He valued photography for its ability to reveal hidden worlds. He spent decades assembling the photography collection now going to auction.
Early masters in french photography history
The 19th-century section includes work by Auguste Belloc, Gustave Le Gray, Édouard Baldus, and Nadar. These figures shaped the medium in its first decades.
Therond also gathered 20th-century work by Man Ray, who became a French naturalized citizen. The group includes images by Dora Maar, Brassaï, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Helmut Newton, and Guy Bourdin. Several of these photographers were friends of Therond, and together their work reflects the wider sweep of french photography history.
One photograph that refused to settle
Man Ray’s Le Baiser (The Kiss) held particular meaning for Therond. Christie’s estimates the print between $280,000 and $392,000, or €250,000 to €350,000.
The photograph shows two sitters, including photographer Lee Miller on the left. It never reveals who they are or how they relate to each other.
Therond encouraged his children to look at it more than once. He wanted them to weigh the possibilities the image offers.
“A man and a woman? Two women? Two men wearing make-up? Let us not try to know,” Therond would say, according to a news release by Christie’s.
“Instead, let us half-close our eyes and allow into our field of vision the black-clad Gypsy woman who emerges, beyond the photographer’s intention, a dancing silhouette whose skirt billows like a corolla. And where are we? In another world, the world of the strange, the world of the unknown.”
Therond’s advice still applies to anyone studying the medium. Look at a photograph twice, and it may show you something the photographer never planned.
Source: petapixel.com
Frequently asked questions
When and where is Christie’s French photography auction taking place?
Christie’s is holding three sales in Paris on November 13 and 14. Online bidding runs from November 6 to 17.
How many photographs are in the Roger Therond Collection auction?
Christie’s is offering more than 350 photographs from the Roger Therond Collection, titled A French Passion. The works are spread across three sales in Paris.
What is the estimated price for Man Ray’s Le Baiser?
Christie’s estimates Man Ray’s Le Baiser (The Kiss) at between $280,000 and $392,000, or €250,000 to €350,000. The photograph shows two sitters, including Lee Miller on the left.
What is considered the oldest known photograph made with a camera?
View from the Window at Le Gras, captured by French inventor Nicéphore Niépce in 1826 or 1827, is widely considered the oldest known photograph made with a camera.
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