Brueg Art & Design

Recently deceased, Julius Shulman was a master architectural photographer, made famous by his sublime photographs of California modernist houses by Pierre Koenig and Richard Neutra. I first became aware of Shulman by a newspaper article on a show of his here in New York five years ago. Ever since then, I’ve been obsessed, and had the iconic images of Case Study House #22 and the Kaufman House stuck in my head. My dream is to own an exhibition print of one of those two pieces.

I own an 8×10 Shulman print, the kind that the architecture firm would show their clients. This is the best way to own a piece of Shulman’s work, as many of these exist. The curious thing is that Shulman was not thought of as an artist at the time – he was simply taking excellent photos of houses for the purposes of architectural business. Only later in life did Shulman exhibit in galleries and museums once his genius as an artist was recognized.  These 8×10 prints can be had on eBay every once in awhile for $100-$400, while the exhibition grade 16×20 prints fetch up to $10,000. There are also several excellent books showcasing his work.

Lumas is the brainchild of Stefanie Harig & Marc Ullrich. It started with a few prints purchased from a NYC artist, and has grown into many galleries all over the world and a very important online presence of the business as well. Lumas specializes in limited editions of a photographs by known and unknown photographers, with the edition size just large enough to lower the costs and make the works more accessible. Prices typically range from $500-$1500, and framed versions are a few hundred more.

I’ve bought two pieces from Lumas, the 2nd and 3rd thumbnails below by Gabo and Alexandra Hagar. The Gabo print I framed myself, but I would recommend paying more for their framing option, as the Lumasec mounting of the Alexandra Hagar piece came out beautifully. Many of the pieces at Lumas are large and really your attention. The first thumbnail below by To Jacobi of the Ganges river in India is 71×102 inches, which is about 6×8 feet! Unfortunately that size commands a premium, with the unframed version going for $4180 and the framed version $8339. Find these and many more on the Lumas website.

I recently found two prints of O. Winston Link’s most famous photograph Hotshot, Eastbound, Iager, West Virginia, 1956 on Ebay. Story goes that the iconic photograph was taken using 42 flash bulbs to light the scene. The photographer then had to come back the next day and take another exposure of the movie screen which he then overlaid onto the final negative.

The original prints on Ebay are going for $5000 and $7500, but are well worth the price, as this is one of the most iconic black and white images ever taken.