On the occasion of Art Basel 2023, Hamiltons is pleased to present a curated selection of vintage and rare works by Richard Avedon, Hiro, Irving Penn, Helmut Newton, Albert Watson, Nobuyoshi Araki and Herb Ritts that represent the breadth of the gallery’s programme.

Highlights include portraits of Francis Bacon and Willem de Kooning by Richard Avedon – the unequivocal master of photographic portraiture. Boyd Fortin, Thirteen-Year-Old Rattlesnake Skinner, Sweetwater, Texas, 1979, the very first picture taken in Avedon’s seminal ‘In the American West’ series, will also be featured.

Exemplar prints by Irving Penn highlight his technical mastery of platinum palladium and dye transfer printing, illuminating the many photographic processes available in the medium. Rare ferrotyped prints by Helmut Newton showcase the photographer’s erotic-urban style that revolutionized image making as we know it and underpin his technical prowess. 

A large scale installation by late photographer Hiro, Shinjuku Station, Tokyo, Japan, 1962, encapsulate the space forcing the viewer to confront the claustrophobia captured in the fragmented forms by the innovative photographer. Unique hand drawn sketches by the ever-controversial Nobuyoshi Araki, shown alongside his tantalizing nudes, compliment the immediacy of the artist’s practice. 

Hamiltons is among the world’s foremost photography galleries. Founded in 1977, owner and principal Tim Jefferies has run the business and driven the artistic programme since 1984. Jefferies has been instrumental in building the primary and secondary markets in photography, solidifying Hamiltons position as one of the leading galleries specialising in works by modern masters such as; Irving Penn, Richard Avedon, Helmut Newton, Hiro, Herb Ritts and Horst P. Horst.

In addition to these luminaries, the gallery represents established international photographers including; Mario Testino, Tomio Seike, Murray Fredericks, Nuboyoshi Araki, and Erwin Olaf, in addition to British world renowned conflict and landscape photographer Sir Don McCullin.

Exclusive projects with Daido Moriyama, Bettina Rheims, Roger Ballen, Annie Leibovitz, Albert Watson, Gavin Bond, Christopher Thomas and Richard Learoyd, among others, have all been orchestrated by Hamiltons, becoming an integral part of the gallery’s approach to offering visitors and collectors new opportunities to experience the best of the medium. 

Visit our Online View Room here. 

Booth A3 | Hall 2.0

Messe Basel

Messeplatz 10 
4058 Basel
Switzerland