Phillips to host Visual Language: The Art of Irving Penn, a landmark auction of photographs and artworks from The Irving Penn Foundation.
This standalone sale, featuring photographic prints and paintings that Penn made during his seven decades-long career, marks the first time that the foundation has offered the artist’s work through auction. This historic event will celebrate Penn’s remarkable talents, highlighting his unique vision and masterful craftsmanship across a variety of photographic print processes.
The 70-lot sale will take place on 8th October 2025 ahead of Phillips’ seasonal Photographs sale on 9th October.
Tom Penn, Executive Director of The Irving Penn Foundation, said,
“As stewards of Irving Penn’s artistic legacy since 2010, this auction is a pivotal moment for The Irving Penn Foundation as we aspire to expand our charitable and educational program. My father would say to me, ‘whatever you do in life, do it with complete passion.’ It was with passion that he sought excellence in everything he did, and each object included in this sale reflects the innovation and exactitude that defined Penn’s practice. The artworks selected for the auction span the range of mediums and subjects Penn explored across his career, presenting rarely seen images alongside his most well known photographs that provide a new perspective on the diversity of his production. Through this carefully
considered sale, we demonstrate Irving Penn’s mastery and enduring influence in the field of photography.”
Irving Penn was one of the 20th century’s most significant photographers, known for his arresting images, technical mastery, and quiet intensity. Though he gained widespread acclaim as a leading Vogue photographer for over sixty years, Penn remained a private figure devoted to his craft. Trained under legendary art director Alexey Brodovitch in Philadelphia, he began his career assisting at Harper’s Bazaar before joining Vogue in 1943, where editor and artist Alexander Liberman recognized Penn’s distinctive eye and encouraged him to pursue photography. Penn’s incomparably elegant fashion studies reset the standard for the magazine world, and his portraits, still lifes, and nude studies broke new ground. His 1960 book Moments Preserved redefined the photographic monograph with its dynamic layout and high-quality reproductions. In 1964, Penn began printing in platinum and palladium, reviving this 19th-century process to serve his own distinct vision. He was one of the first photographers to benefit from the burgeoning fine art photography market of the 1970s, and he earned a growing following of collectors and curators leading to major exhibitions at The Museum of Modern Art, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Moderna Museet, Stockholm, Art Institute of Chicago, and National Portrait Gallery, London, among many other institutions.
An innovator in every sense, Penn’s approach to photography was bold. Few photographers of his generation experimented as widely with both conventional and historic print processes, and none achieved Penn’s level of excellence in all. Phillips’ auction will feature work in a variety of photographic media, including Penn’s bravura gelatin silver prints, such as Coffee Pot, nuanced platinum-palladium prints like Harlequin Dress (Lisa FonssagrivesPenn), and rare dye-transfer prints, led by the iconic Ginkgo Leaves.
Vanessa Hallett, Phillips’ Deputy Chairwoman and Worldwide Head of Photographs, said,
“Irving Penn was one of the foremost photographers of our time, standing alongside the great contemporary artists who have come to define the 20th-century art historical canon. Today, Penn’s vision and skill remain unequaled. Phillips is honored to work with the foundation in its 20th-anniversary year, shining a spotlight on Penn’s technical genius, creative process, and extraordinary output while presenting this groundbreaking work to a new audience. These works were preserved for decades by the artist and his foundation, hence their incredible provenance and condition. We are thrilled to provide a platform that educates the next generation of collectors on Penn’s impact, while assisting the
foundation further its mission of preserving and advancing Penn’s legacy for years to come.”
Heralding an exceptional opportunity for collectors, many of the works selected from the foundation’s archives have never before appeared at auction; this includes several examples from Penn’s influential 1950 Black and White series for Vogue, and the large-scale four-panel platinum-palladium print of Mud Glove with typography advertising his 1977 Street Material exhibition at The Met. In addition to his work as a photographer, Penn was also an accomplished painter and draftsman. For the first time at auction, Phillips will also showcase his work in these mediums, taking the opportunity to set forth the full range of this remarkable artist’s creative output.
The Irving Penn Foundation was established in 2005 to promote knowledge and understanding of Irving Penn’s artistic legacy, including the diversity of techniques, mediums, and subject matters the artist explored. It is the largest repository of Irving Penn’s work.
Visual Language: The Art of Irving Penn, 11AM EDT 8th October 2025 Phillips New York
On view: 30th September – 7th October 2025, Select highlights on view at 4th-25th September.
