Lot 606
Brian Hamill, 'Arms Folded' John Lennon, The Dakota, NYC, 1975
Brian Hamill, 'Arms Folded' John Lennon, The Dakota, NYC, 1975
Starting Bid: $1,500
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Brian Hamill (American, XX-XXI)., . Arms FoldedJohn Lennon, The Dakota Rooftop, New York. Pigment print, February 1975. Edition 9 of 25. Signed and numbered in pencil at lower right, also on verso. This limited-edition photograph of John Lennon on the rooftop of the Dakota, where he lived with Yoko Ono, was taken by photographer Brian Hamill—brother of actor Mark Hamill—in 1975. Recalling the encounter, Hamill told People magazine, "He answered the door. The first thing he said to me was, 'How've you been, Brian?' He was totally cool and made me feel very relaxed." In this striking image, Lennon is captured from the chest up, arms folded, gazing directly at the viewer through his signature eyeglasses, wearing a black cap and a black jacket adorned with a dazzling Elvis pin. Just five years later, on December 8, 1980, tragedy struck when Lennon opened the door of his Dakota apartment to the man who would take his life. Size (image): 12.5" L x 18.875" W (31.8 cm x 47.9 cm) Size (frame): 22.875" L x 28.375" W (58.1 cm x 72.1 cm)
Forty years after the legend's death, Hamill published "Dream Lovers" a photo book that included this photograph -"Arms Folded" - along with many other remarkable photographs of John and Yoko. In a People Magazine article, journalist Sam Gillette shared a wonderful story that adds a charming narrative to this photo, "When Hamill and Lennon went to the roof to take more photographs, Hamill put on his cap 'with the snap open,' just like Lennon had been known to do.
'He looked at me and I thought he was going to say something, but I beat him to the punch and I said, 'Sorry for copying your style.' He just chuckled,' Hamill says.
'Then, when I was leaving the apartment, he walked me to the door and he put his hand on my back,' Hamill continues. 'I had my coat and my cap on and he pointed to my cap and he said, 'Don't worry about copying my style, Brian. I copped it from Dylan.'" (source: Sam Gilette, "Brian Hamill Remembers Photographing John Lennon & Yoko Ono in NYC, 40 Years After the Legend's Death" People Magazine, December 8, 2020.
About the Artist: "Brian Hamill was born in Brooklyn, NY and studied photography at the Rochester Institute of Technology.
In the mid 1960s, Hamill began his long career as a photojournalist covering everything from the Rock & Roll scene, politics, and entertainment to sports (especially the boxing world). He also worked for a few years as an assistant to several top fashion photographers in the late sixties.
In the early 1970s, he traveled to Northern Ireland to photograph the troubles there for The New York Times Magazine, and simultaneously widened his photojournalistic scope into a unit still photographer on movie sets. Since then he has worked as a unit still photographer on over seventy-five movies including twenty-six Woody Allen films, resulting in the much acclaimed coffee table photo book entitled 'Woody Allen At Work: The Photographs of Brian Hamill' (Harry N. Abrams, 1995).
Hamill's work has also appeared in numerous other books, publications and many group and solo exhibitions including a one-man show at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 1995.
Since 2005 Hamill has had many solo exhibitions in New York City, Los Angeles, Toronto, Santa Fe and Austin with his 'Tests of Time' images of John Lennon, Muhammad Ali, Mick Jagger, Tina Turner, Robert DeNiro from 'Raging Bull' and Woody Allen from 'Manhattan' and 'Annie Hall'.
In addition to his movie work, Hamill has an extensive file of photographs that includes the 'Troubles In Northern Ireland – 1972', Rock & Roll, boxing, and an extensive file of travel photographs from around the world.
With over fifty-one years as a photographer, Hamill has amassed an amazingly colorful collection of stories to complement his many photographs...Hamill, who is a self-proclaimed 'devoted and fiercely loyal New Yorker,' still lives in New York City." (source: Brian Hamill's website)
Provenance: Ex-private collection of Samuel Saunders, Nogales, AZ, partner of Holler & Saunders, Ltd., founded in 1979 and widely regarded as one of the preeminent authorities in Spanish Colonial and Mexican folk art.
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Item #
201783
- Condition: Signed and numbered in pencil at lower right. Title, edition number, creation date, location, and signature handwritten on verso. Photograph is mounted under glass in a custom black frame with a white mat. Photo not examined outside the frame but appears to be in excellent condition. Minor scuffs to the frame. Otherwise frame is of gallery quality and fit with suspension wire.
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| From: | To: | Increments: |
|---|---|---|
| $0 | $749 | $25 |
| $750 | $1,499 | $50 |
| $1,500 | $2,999 | $100 |
| $3,000 | $7,499 | $250 |
| $7,500 | $14,999 | $500 |
| $15,000 + | $1,000 |