Chuck Close joins effort to block sale of the Polaroid Collection at Sotheby’s

Over 1,200 works from the Polaroid Collection of Photography are headed to auction at Sotheby’s on June 21/22, 2010. The works are being liquidated by order of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Minnesota.

Proceeds from the auction, estimated at upwards of $11.5 million, will be paid to the creditors of the defunct Polaroid Corporation (now PBE, Corp.). PBE sought to employ Sotheby’s as consignment and sales agent and auctioneer to maximize the value of the Collection.

Artists in the Collection include  Andy Warhol, Ansel Adams, Chuck Close, David Hockney, David Levinthal, Robert Mapplethorpe, Helmut Newton, Robert Rauschenberg, Lorna Simpson and more.

From Sotheby’s:

On June 21 and 22, Sotheby’s will offer at auction over 1,200 works from the Polaroid Collection of Photography, from classic pictures by Ansel Adams to cutting-edge contemporary works by Chuck Close and Lucas Samaras.  Polaroid’s “instant” photography, developed by Edwin Land in the 1940’s, revolutionized picture-taking for both professionals and amateurs alike; and from its very beginning, Polaroid attracted photographers such as Adams, who were quick to seize upon the new technology’s aesthetic potential.  From the 1950’s on, a whole host of artists experimented with each new Polaroid camera and film, creating a unique body of work that would officially become the Polaroid Collection of Photography…

The auction is being widely criticized for fragmenting the collection of over 24,000 objects. Many see the sale as a contravention of the original license agreements that run between artists and the Polaroid Corporation.

When Polaroid acquired works, contributing artists were required to complete the POLAROID COLLECTION RELEASE FORM, which reads: “I hereby grant to Polaroid Corporation and its companies, the worldwide non-exclusive rights for exhibition and editorial (non-commercial) publication purposes of the following images in perpetuity.”

The Art Newspaper is reporting that Chuck Close is among the 56 artists willing to be plaintiffs should a motion for a rehearing be filed. According to Close, “These were not Polaroid’s works to sell…I gave my best work to the collection because it was made clear that it was going to stay together and be given to a museum.”

More on the controversy here and here. Visit the Polaroid Collection of Photography auction site here.