While art and photography were both sincere pursuits of the late Arnold Newman, he did not favor the two together. "Those who call themselves art photographers are pompous, arrogant egoists,"he told the Detroit News in 1923. Yet, a great deal of Newman's work deals with the artists who frequented his studio in the modernist enclave of West 67th street. And the property of his estate - a portion of which is to be auctioned by Christie's on January 10 - is a testament to the friendships he maintained with those subjects. Credited with the discovery of environmental portraiture, Newman believed in the revelatory power of one's surroundings. What better means, then, of understanding this great photographer, than exploring the very pictures that he chose to make a part of his.

Highlights of the auction include Ellsworth Kelly's Spencertown: A classic example of Kelly's minimalist style; George Segal's Untitled (Seated Nude): Evidence that even at the height of Abstract Expressionism, Segal devoted some time to the human figure; and a sketch of James Rosenquist's The Meteor Hits Picasso's Bed: A pop artist matures and takes on Picasso.
--LIZ McDANIEL

Ellsworth Kelly, Spencertown

George Segal, Untitled(Seated Nude)

James Rosenquist The Meteor Hits Picasso's Bed; including hand-written letter from James Rosenquist to Arnold Newman

All images courtesy of Christie's Images Ltd. 2006