About This Lot
Please be advised that due to recent global shipping events, there may be fulfillment delays during the post-sale process.
2 prints are:
54 x 78 cm (21 x 31 inches) Image
60 x 90 cm (24 x 35 inches) Sheet
72 x 100 cm (28 x 40 inches) Passepartout
6 prints are:
34 x 51 cm (13 x 21 inches) Image
50 x 60 cm (20 x 24 inches) Sheet
55 x 75 cm (22 x 30 inches) Passepartout
Overall dimensions are:
75 x 100 x 5 cm (30 x 40 x 2 inches)
THE TWO IMAGES IN THE TOP ROW OF THE GRID ARE THE LARGER PHOTOGRAPHS.
Sebastião Salgado’s series "Kuwait: A Desert of Fire", 1991, is a landmark series capturing one of the defining geopolitical crises of the late 20th century with his characteristic humanist vision and monumental photographic rigor.
The offered lot is comprised of eight gelatin silver prints — two large-format and six smaller — this grouping from the series documents the devastating impact of the Gulf War on the Kuwaiti landscape and its people. Salgado’s meticulous compositions, tonal depth, and sensitivity to human presence transform reportage into a profoundly moving visual narrative.
This portfolio is significant for its rarity and coherence, offering a unified body of work that illustrates both Salgado’s technical mastery and ethical engagement with extreme circumstances. The prints’ varying scales enhance the immersive quality, allowing viewers to experience the intimate and the monumental simultaneously. Kuwait exemplifies Salgado’s commitment to socially conscious photography and occupies a vital place in the visual record of contemporary history.
Salgado received numerous, international awards for his work such as the Hasselblad Award (1989); World Press Photo Awards (1984, 1985, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1992); the Lifetime Achievement award at Photo London (2015); among others. His work has been the subject of several major exhibitions at institutions including the International Center of Photography, New York; the Philadelphia Museum of Art; and the Palais de Tokyo, Paris. Salgado’s work is included in the permanent collections of The Museum of Modern Art, New York; the Centre Pompidou, Paris; the J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles; among others.
