Mar 14

Mar 14 Review: Sotheby's Auction: On the Road: Photographs by Robert Frank from the Collection of Arthur S. Penn

Robert Frank. *Striking Worker (Hearns Department Store).* From the Collection of Arthur Penn. Courtesy of Sotheby’s.

Written by Max Wiener

Photo Edited by Haley Winchell

On February 22nd, storied auction house Sotheby’s staged “On the Road: Photographs by Robert Frank from the Collection of Arthur S Penn,” a sweeping 109-lot show of the iconic photographer’s work from all stages of his illustrious career.

The Zurich-born Frank changed the landscape of the medium in 1958 when he released his groundbreaking photography collection The Americans, capturing the unfiltered nature of the vast country through the lens of his Leica. In 2014, critic Sean O’ Hagan, writing for The Guardian, claimed that Frank’s book “remains the most influential photography book of the 20th century.”

Robert Frank. *Beaufort S. C*.. From the Collection of Arthur Penn. Courtesy of Sotheby’s.

Robert Frank. *Hoboken N. J. (Parade)*. From the Collection of Arthur Penn. Courtesy of Sotheby’s.

The Penn collection is as expansive as it gets; he acquired all the photographs directly from Frank between 1977 and 1978. Frank’s observant style - bringing the viewer into the photograph with seemingly no staged aspects - is highlighted in photographs like ‘Hoboken N.J. (Parade),’ one of his most endearing and haunting images. Some of Frank’s lesser known works that have rarely been seen by the public eye were also auctioned off.

The auction of Frank’s work represents a fascinating conundrum in the art collecting world, especially in the modern era. Yearnings for older works are now being replaced with cravings for the new and hip, but Frank places himself above the particular binary. You feel as though you could be looking at photographs taken yesterday when you scroll through the Penn collection. It begs you to ask: are people longing for a nostalgia that feels most like the present?

Robert Frank. *Detroit*. From the Collection of Arthur Penn. Courtesy of Sotheby’s.

“On the Road'' is a seemingly fitting title (not to be confused with Keuroac’s masterpiece), as it highlights Frank’s ability to capture the broad breadth of Americana with a unique scope in each of his photographs. They represent a vastness that America once contained, a time when freedom to travel had no dependence on a state’s governance or policy. What it proves is that photography remains as relevant to modern society as it did upon its release, when its groundbreaking nature planted itself firmly within the country’s zeitgeist.