“Sara, Montalivet, France (1998)” by Jock Sturges. This gallery card was added to The Michael Aaron Gallagher Fine Art Collection in 2021. It is a postcard for the artist’s opening reception on April 1, 1999 at the Butters Gallery in Portland, Oregon. The subtle nuances of her microexpressions and body language give this photograph a particularly mysterious emotional quality in what would otherwise be a blank stare.
Within The Michael Aaron Gallagher Fine Art Collection, the Jock Sturges exhibit showcases 16 stellar black and white prints signed by the famed photographer. They include limited edition 16″ x 20″ prints, a rare gelatin silver artist’s proof of Baton Perdu in Montalivet, France, as well as an 11″ x 14″ archival ink print, which was purchased to support the work of the Photographic Center Northwest in Seattle. Accompanying the art is a brochure for his exhibition celebrating the launch of his book “Fanny,” 12 framed gallery invitation show cards from 1991-2010 with small photographs by Sturges on the front and a personal letter from the photographer about his work. The models currently featured in The Collection are Fanny, Vanessa, Rita, Adele, Celie, Lidiwine, Nikki, Lotte, Catherine, Angela, Lauralee, Alexandra, Sonja, Claire, Isabelle, Ferry, Myriam, Ilka, Cindy, Kelly and Hanneke.
“Nikki and Lotte, Montalivet, France (1993)” by Jock Sturges. This limited edition 11″ x 14″ archival pigment ink print was purchased to support the work of the Photographic Center Northwest in Seattle, Washington.
Although Jock Sturges‘ photography continues to be the subject of criticism for some unsophisticated viewers, his work remains iconic and timeless within the art world. A part of the permanent collections of prestigious museums and art galleries around the world, including The Museum of Modern Art in New York City, The Metropolitan Museum in New York City, the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris, The Frankfurt Museum of Modern Art in Germany, and the Museum of Contemporary Photography in Chicago, his work as a world-renowned photographer continues to inspire generations of photographers who aspire to achieve what he has with the 8×10 camera.
Born in New York City in 1947, Sturges studied photography at Marlboro College and the San Francisco Art Institute. His ethereal images have been published in several books, including The Last Day of Summer (1992), Radiant Identities (1994), Evolutions of Grace (1994) and Fanny (2014).
Photographer Jock Sturges takes a picture of a model at the Levin Gallery. Photo courtesy of Russell Levin.
Many of the models who posed for his pictures continued to do so for decades, chronicling their changing beauty from youth through adulthood. His photographs possess both an artistic quality to them, while also documenting specific moments in time.
According to Jock Sturges‘ January 1, 2011 retail price list, the breakdown for 16″ x 20″ black and white gelatin silver prints, which were produced in a signed, limited edition of 40 and were his most exhibited size is as follows: #1-10 $3,200; #11-20 $4,000; #21-30 $5,200; #31-35 $6,400; #36-40 $8,000. His 8″ x 10″ black and white contact prints ranged in price from $3,200-$4,000. His 16″ x 20″ archival ink, digital pigment proofs were listed at $1,400-$2,700, depending on edition number. The retail price for his 20″ x 24″ gelatin silver prints was $9,000-$20,000, depending on edition number. To date, the highest auction price for a Jock Sturges photograph was a portrait of Fanny, which sold at Christie’s for $40,000.
When it comes to the work of Jock Sturges there are two audiences, those who get it and those who don’t. Like many of the great masters of art throughout the centuries, who were not fully appreciated during their time à la Pablo Picasso’s cubism, Claude Monet’s impressionism, Jean Michel Basquiat’s Neo-Expressionism, Andy Warhol’s Pop Art, and Banksy’s street art — Jock Sturges is a pioneer in his field who stretched to the limits of what his medium would allow by following the path of his creative passion. Unlike many modern artists, who pursue the boundaries of the box that defines art for the mere sake of shock value and social clout, Sturges shows a reverence for his subjects and a skill in the execution of his craft that cannot be confused with anything other than what it is.
“Baton Perdu, Montalivet, France (1992) by Jock Sturges. The only landscape photograph in The Michael Aaron Gallagher Fine Art Collection by Jock Sturges is this rare gelatin silver artist’s proof. Translated from French, “baton perdu” means “lost stick.”
Like all truly great artists, what makes his work particularly relevant is the social debate that has never ceased to surround his art. It is as fervently debated now as it was when he began taking pictures, just as there are still those in the art world who dismiss Jackson Pollock’s drip paintings as a mockery to the profession. Yet, decades later a new crop of artists and visionaries are inspired by the muse that was his work. So how can it be so easily dismissed? Perhaps, the photography of Jock Sturges is simply waiting for a more enlightened generation to understand and value the timeless beauty of his images.
To view more original works in The Michael Aaron Gallagher Fine Art Collection click here. For information about works that have been donated to the collection click here.