My Bare Ladies

Photographs of models au naturel are headed for the block at Christie's
Wednesday, March 26, 2008

(NEW YORK) No, it's not another salacious Hollywood scandal. Nude images of Kate Moss, Carla Bruni and Gisele are up for sale. Christie's International Photographs Department will be auctioning off iconic photographs from the collection of Gert Elfering on April 10th. The sale will include 135 lots from famed photographers like Richard Avedon, Helmut Newton, Patrick Demarchelier, Frank Horvat, Peter Lindbergh, and Irving Penn.

This is not the first time Elfering has taken his collection to the auction blocks. He held his first sale by Christie's in 2005 and a second focused exclusively on the work of Horst P. Horst followed in April 2007. The upcoming auction features pieces Elfering originally wanted to keep for himself including an Avedon of Brigitte Bardot and Newton's Elsa Peretti as Bunny Girl.

An intimate preview reception will take place on April 4th. It remains to be seen whether Nicolas Sarkozy or Tom Brady will raise their paddles.