NEW YORK, 14 March 2018 – Sotheby’s is pleased to present A Beautiful Life: Photographs from the Collection of Leland Hirsch in a dedicated auction on 10 April 2018, highlighting Sotheby’s spring sales of Photographs in New York. Assembled with passion over the course of nearly two decades by the ‘godfather of haircolor,’ this photographs collection contains some of the most recognizable images of the 20th and 21st centuries, including works by Richard Avedon, Irving Penn, Man Ray and Diane Arbus, among others. The collection will be on public view in our York Avenue galleries beginning 4 April, alongside our seasonal presale exhibition of Photographs.

A pioneer in the creative and scientific development of beauty products, an authority on hair color, visionary thought-leader and industry innovator, Leland Hirsch has defined both his career and art collection by the search for “what should be that is not.” The exceptional collection he created reflects a unique and sophisticated vision that is sensitive to life’s beautiful contradictions, from Man Ray’s Surrealist Bras (Arm) (estimate $80/120,000) to Richard Avedon’s iconic Dovima with Elephants, Evening Dress by Dior, Cirque d’Hiver, Paris, August 1955 (estimate $300/500,000) and Diane Arbus’s disquieting Child with a Toy Hand Grenade in Central Park, N.Y.C (estimate $70/100,000).

His affinity for glossy, editorial images such as Irving Penn’s Issey Miyake Design with Black Fan (estimate $15/25,000), Herb Ritts’ iconic Stephanie, Cindy, Christy, Tatjana, Naomi, Hollywood (estimate $50/70,000) and Steven Meisel’s Madonna Hitching (estimate $5/7,000) was developed after decades working with amazing photographers, models and beauty editors from the 1970’s, 1980’s and 1990’s such as Shirley Lord and Dorothy Schefer (Vogue), Felicia Milewicz (Mademoiselle and Glamour) and many others. As the beauty editors' "go-to" person for professional haircolor, Leland provided commentary and visual concepts for what was new. He has an innate ability to interpret new ideas for editorials, and photography, connecting the idea to the consumer.

Leland Hirsch commented: “When looking at photography as a collector, there is a personal connection between you as the collector, and the photograph. I am drawn to vibrant, exciting images that tell a special story.”