About Face: The David and Gail Mixer Collection of Photographs

Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz

Improvised scene as a cleric, Zakopane

Lot Closed

April 10, 02:12 PM GMT

Estimate

10,000 - 15,000 USD

Lot Details

Description

About Face: The David and Gail Mixer Collection of Photographs

Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz

1885 - 1939

Improvised scene as a cleric, Zakopane


2 gelatin silver prints, framed together

images approximately: 4¼ by 5 in. (10.8 by 12.7 cm.)

frame: 20 by 18 in. (50.8 by 45.7 cm.)

Executed in 1932, printing date unknown.

Collection of Stefan Okolowicz, Poland

Olivier Renaud-Clément

Acquired from the above in 2000 by the present owner

A prolific painter, writer, theorist and photographer, Stanislaw Ignacy Witkiewicz was one of the most influential avant-garde artists in Poland during the early 20th century. Referring to himself as Witkacy, he was a member of the Formist group of pioneering artists who brought Modern art to Poland. His eccentric use of photography explored the psychology behind the figure. Through exaggerated facial expressions, extreme cropping, and props, Witkiewicz made images of multiple personas within the guise of self-portrait. Trauma informed his art, having witnessed the Russian revolution and the suicide of his fiancée. The day after the Soviet Union invaded Poland in 1939, Witkiewicz took his own life.

(C) 2025 Sotheby's
All alcoholic beverage sales in New York are made solely by Sotheby's Wine (NEW L1046028)