Charlie Chaplin, 1925 gelatin silver print, mounted to board - photo 1
Charlie Chaplin, 1925 gelatin silver print, mounted to board - photo 2
Charlie Chaplin, 1925 gelatin silver print, mounted to board - photo 3

Charlie Chaplin, 1925 gelatin silver print, mounted to board

Lot 131
28.09.2023 13:00UTC +00:00
Classic
Sold
£ 2 268
AuctioneerCHRISTIE'S
Event locationUnited Kingdom, London
Buyer Premiumsee on Website%
Archive
The auction is completed. No bids can be placed anymore.
Archive
ID 1016366
Lot 131 | Charlie Chaplin, 1925 gelatin silver print, mounted to board
Estimate value
£ 2 000 – 3 000
Charlie Chaplin, 1925 gelatin silver print, mounted to board

Edward Steichen

EDWARD STEICHEN (1879–1973)



Charlie Chaplin, 1925

gelatin silver print, mounted to board

signed and inscribed in black ink by Charlie Chaplin 'To Edgar From Charlie' (recto), stamped photographer’s credit (verso)

9½ x 7 in. (240 x 178 mm); framed 18¼ x 15½ in. (460 x 393 mm)



From 1923 until 1937, Edward Steichen served as chief photographer for Vogue and Vanity Fair, ushering the magazines into modernity with his boldly posed and expressively lit celebrity portraiture. ‘Of course I had favourites’, wrote Steichen, ‘Chaplin was one. The first time he came to the studio, his secretary, who brought him there said, “Mr Chaplin has another appointment, so he can only give you twenty minutes.” When we got Chaplin in the studio and started to arrange the lights, he froze. I dismissed my assistants and tried to work alone with him, but nothing happened. Finally Chaplin said, “You know, I can’t just sit still. I have to be doing something. Then I’m all right.” So I stopped working and got out a portfolio of my photographs … Then I started to talk to him about The Gold Rush, the film he had just released, he loosened up and became enthusiastic in turn … in a few minutes I had half a dozen portraits of Chaplin relaxed and himself, the image of a dancing faun.’ Shot for Vanity Fair at Steichen’s New York studio in 1925, the present image was published three years later in the March 1928 issue, as promotion for Chaplin’s 1928 film The Circus. The recipient of the inscription is likely to have been one of two Edgars with whom Chaplin was close: the first is Edgar Kennedy, an old friend and colleague of Chaplin's who had been part of Sennett's company and one of the original Keystone Cops; the other possibility is the Spanish director and screenwriter Edgar Neville, who had become one of Chaplin's close acquaintances in Hollywood in the 1930s. Steichen, A Life in Photography, n.p. Provenance: Bonhams, Oxford, 23 May 2006, lot 29.

Address of auction CHRISTIE'S
8 King Street, St. James's
SW1Y 6QT London
United Kingdom
Preview
28.09.2023 – 28.09.2023
Phone +44 (0)20 7839 9060
Email
4FQ.AYGKAGLUQ@FO3G@
Buyer Premium see on Website
Conditions of purchaseConditions of purchase

More from Creator

Steichen, Edward
Steichen, Edward
€400
EDWARD STEICHEN (1879-1973)
EDWARD STEICHEN (1879-1973)
$2 000 000
EDWARD STEICHEN (1879-1973)
EDWARD STEICHEN (1879-1973)
€40 000
Steichen, Edward
Steichen, Edward
€600
EDWARD STEICHEN (1879–1973)
EDWARD STEICHEN (1879–1973)
$2 400
EDWARD STEICHEN (1879–1973)
EDWARD STEICHEN (1879–1973)
$2 400
EDWARD STEICHEN (1879-1973)
EDWARD STEICHEN (1879-1973)
€2 000
EDWARD STEICHEN (1879-1973)
EDWARD STEICHEN (1879-1973)
€70 000

Related terms

Frequently asked questions

First of all, you should register to be able to purchase at auction. After confirming your email address, enter your personal information in your user profile, such as your first name, last name, and mail address. Choose a lot from the upcoming auction and the maximum amount you want to place on it. After confirmation of your choice, we will send your application by e-mail to the appropriate auction house. If the auction house accepts a request, it will participate in the auction. You can view the current status of a bid at any time in your personal account in the "Bids" section.
Auctions are performed by auction houses and each of the auction houses describes their terms of auction. You can see the texts in the section "Auction information".
The results of the auction are published within a few days after the end of the auction. In the top menu of the site, find the tab "Auctions". Click on it and you will be on the auction catalog page, where you can easily find the category "Results". After opening it, select the desired auction from the list, enter and view the current status of the interested lot.
The information about the auction winners is confidential. The auction winner will receive a direct notification from the auction house responsible with instructions for further action: an invoice for payment and the manner in which the goods will be received.
Each of the auction houses has its own payment policy for the won lots. All auction houses accept bank transfers, most of them accept credit card payments. In the near future you will find detailed information for each case in the section "Auction information" on the page of the auction catalog and the lot.
Shipment of the won lot depends on its size. Small items can be delivered by post. Larger lots are sent by courier. Employees of the auction houses will offer you a wide range to choose from.
No. The archive serves as a reference for the study of auction prices, photographs and descriptions of works of art.