Lot 242
Fred G. Korth (American, born in Germany, 1902-1983). Gelatin silver print, ca. 1940s. A striking black and white photograph of downtown Chicago at night by the legendary photographer, Fred G. Korth, featuring some of the city's legendary landmarks, including The Hotel Sherman - the last of a succession of Sherman hotels built in 1911 - designed by Holabird and Roche, and the Garrick Theater by Adler and Sullivan which first opened in 1892 as the Schiller Building. While the Schiller showed stage plays, by the time it became the Garrick, movies had replaced live theater in this space; the marquee in Korth's photo reads, "GARRICK TO EACH HIS OWN - OLIVIA DE HAVILAND IN 'TO EACH HIS OWN' MARY ANDERSON-PHILLIP TERRY & INTRODUCING JOHN LUND". Also in this view are signs for The Garrick Lounge and Nankin Restaurant which catered to a variety of tastes, serving Chinese food as well as treats from its own soda fountain! Size: 11" L x 13.875" W (27.9 cm x 35.2 cm)
Of course, most of these landmarks no longer exist, making this photo of great historical interest. For example, although the Garrick was included in Chicago's first list of architectural landmarks in February of 1960, by the following year, its office tower was vacant and the commission on architectural landmarks concluded that they could not save the Garrick, because the owners could not operate it at a profit. Sadly, the Garrick's demolition began in January 16, 1961 and The Hotel Sherman was torn down in 1980 to make way for the James R. Thompson Center.
"Fred G. Korth was born in Guben, Germany in 1902 and went to school in Berlin. In 1926 he emigrated to Chicago, USA and learned photography. By the end of the 1920s he was a member of the Dearborn Camera Club and his photographs were exhibited in the 1930s in photo salons in the United States and abroad (especially Japan, Vienna and Madrid). In 1932 he opened his own studio in Chicago and worked until the mid 1960s for major American magazines such as 'National Geographic', 'Newsweek', 'Fortune', 'Holiday', 'Look' and 'Popular Mechanics'. He photographed the 1933 World's fair in Chicago and exhibited widely in photographic salons throughout the 1930s. At the same time he worked as an industrial/advertising photographer for large American companies such as US Steel, Quaker Oats, Abbott Laboratories etc. In 1949 he self-published a book on Chicago and his photographs were published throughout his career in photographic year books in the US and Europe. Korth retired in 1965. His work is held in numerous collections in the United states including the J Paul Getty Museum, LA; Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; and George Eastman House, Rochester, USA." (Berlanga Fine Art)
This photograph was in the collection of pioneering patron of the arts, Ginny Williams. Sotheby's hosted a series of auctions featuring art and photography in the Ginny Williams Collection in June and July of 2020. Their press release began as follows, "Born in rural Virginia in 1927, Ginny moved to Denver, Colorado in the late 1950s with her husband, Carl Williams. An avid photographer herself, who studied with Austrian-American photojournalist and photographer Ernst Haas, her collecting journey began with classical figurative photography. Her passion and keen eye eventually prompted her to open her namesake gallery in Denver in the 1980s. While her passion for photography never waned, remaining a primary focus of both her gallery and private collection, her voracious curiosity quickly widened her curatorial focus. Over time, Ginny became increasingly courageous and experimental in her selections, venturing into Abstract Expressionism and Contemporary Art and following her artists themselves through gallery shows and museum exhibitions. As the years passed, Ginny became as much of a trailblazer as the artists she collected."
Provenance: private Idledale, Colorado, USA collection; ex-Ginny Williams collection
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#171283
- Condition: Photo is in excellent condition. Fred Korth's stamp on the verso reads "Photograph by FRED G. KORTH CHICAGO PLEASE CREDIT".
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