Michael Joseph (1941-) - Nude in sheep, small darkroom print by the photographer
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€ 58
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Selected by Elena Vaninetti
Has over ten years of experience in art, specialising in post-war photography and contemporary art.
Estimate € 500 - € 600
 | €58 | |
|---|---|---|
 | €55 | |
| €52 | |
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Michael Joseph's Nude in Sheep, a 1971 gelatin-silver print with a plain off-white mount, hand-signed and signed by the photographer.
AI-assisted summary
Description from the seller
“Nude in Sheep” - Wiltshire, 1974
Unique Signed Vintage Silver Gelatin Photograph by Michael Joseph
At first glance, it seems almost impossible: a solitary nude woman standing in an extraordinary sea of sheep, her pale figure emerging from hundreds of woolly bodies until woman and flock appear to merge into one vast, wonderfully surreal landscape.
Photographed by Michael Joseph in Wiltshire in 1974 for the International Wool Secretariat (IWS), Nude in Sheep is one of those gloriously audacious images that could only have been conceived, coordinated and captured in the 1970s.
The apparent serenity conceals considerable chaos. Michael directed the scene from several hundred metres away by walkie-talkie, while shepherds, stylists and crew battled wind and drizzle, coaxing an enormous and decidedly independent flock into position. Land Rovers, temporary fencing and production paraphernalia surrounded the set. Yet through clever composition and careful cropping, Michael makes all of it disappear. What remains is something strangely serene, sensual and surreal.
The contrasts are irresistible: bare skin and billowing wool; softness and scale; solitude and swarm. One vulnerable human figure stands amid hundreds of animals, almost swallowed by the flock yet unmistakably commanding the centre of the composition.
And then there is a tiny detail that Michael particularly loved. Look closely and amongst the mass of pale wool is a single black-faced sheep seemingly gazing directly towards the woman - a wonderfully whimsical little exchange that rewards a second, closer look. Michael chose this particular negative for printing in part because of that moment.
This example is especially desirable because it is an original vintage darkroom print made by Michael himself in the 1970s - not a later reproduction. It is in a mount and has been signed, titled “IWS Nude in Sheep” and dated “Wiltshire 1974” by Michael Joseph on the front, giving this individual print an especially personal connection to its photographer.
The reverse is equally fascinating, retaining Michael Joseph's original studio label together with handwritten annotation identifying it as a darkroom print created at his West Central Street studio in London in 1974 for IWS - a lovely piece of surviving provenance from his working archive.
As one would expect from a genuine photographic object dating from 1974, the print is not pristine. There are minor indentations, surface irregularities and small age-related imperfections, visible on close inspection and consistent with more than fifty years of handling and storage. These have deliberately been left untouched and should be regarded as part of the history and character of this unique vintage piece rather than those of a modern reproduction.
Client: International Wool Secretariat (IWS)
Photographer: Michael Joseph
Location: Wiltshire, England
Date: 1974
Medium: Original vintage silver gelatin darkroom photograph
Signature: Signed, titled and dated by Michael Joseph
Mount: Original period mount, 30 × 24 cm
Edition: Unique vintage darkroom print at this size
Condition: Minor indentations, surface marks and age-related imperfections consistent with a photographic object from 1974
Part pastoral fantasy, part provocative publicity, part perfectly orchestrated photographic theatre, Nude in Sheep encapsulates Michael Joseph's remarkable ability to transform a complicated commercial commission into an image with an independent life - witty, weird and wonderfully memorable.
A genuinely one-of-a-kind vintage photographic object, hand-printed by the photographer more than fifty years ago, preserved in its original mount and personally signed by Michael Joseph himself.
#MichaelJosephLondon #NudeInSheep #MichaelJosephPhotography #VintagePhotography #SilverGelatinPrint #SignedPhotography #1970sPhotography #BritishPhotography #Wiltshire #InternationalWoolSecretariat #FineArtPhotography #VintageDarkroomPrint #SurrealPhotography #PhotographyCollectors #OneOfAKindArt #Bergere #Shepherdess #Womaninwool
Seller's Story
My father, Michael Joseph, was a London-based advertising photographer, active from the mid-1960s to the early 1990s, and best known for his photographs for the Rolling Stones’ Beggars Banquet gatefold.
My continuing mission is to share what we affectionately call “the other photographs”: the lesser-known treasures from his extraordinary archive — original darkroom prints, test prints, alternative frames from major shoots, his celebrated group compositions, and more intimate, personal images.
For this special Solo Seller Auction, I am particularly excited to include a selection from Michael’s 1964 Vietnam archive — photographs that have never previously been seen or offered for sale. These remarkable images reveal a very different side of his work, made when he was just 23 years old.
Alongside Michael’s authentic vintage darkroom prints, I am also presenting a new generation of works: striking prints on aluminium and my own handmade cyanotypes, created from his original negatives and transparencies in the Dordogne sunshine. Some are made on vintage photographic paper retrieved from Michael’s own working library, bringing the archive quite literally into a new generation.
Together, the collection brings photographic history and contemporary experimentation side by side — from unique vintage prints made by Michael himself to bold new interpretations of his remarkable archive.
I hope you enjoy discovering these photographs as much as I enjoy bringing them to light — sometimes preserved exactly as Michael made them, sometimes given an entirely new life.
All works are carefully protected and packed with the attention appropriate to collectible photographic artworks.
For US buyers: customs duties and applicable import charges are paid at source and included in the shipping cost. No additional charges should normally be payable on delivery, subject to any change in regulations.
Translated by Google Translate“Nude in Sheep” - Wiltshire, 1974
Unique Signed Vintage Silver Gelatin Photograph by Michael Joseph
At first glance, it seems almost impossible: a solitary nude woman standing in an extraordinary sea of sheep, her pale figure emerging from hundreds of woolly bodies until woman and flock appear to merge into one vast, wonderfully surreal landscape.
Photographed by Michael Joseph in Wiltshire in 1974 for the International Wool Secretariat (IWS), Nude in Sheep is one of those gloriously audacious images that could only have been conceived, coordinated and captured in the 1970s.
The apparent serenity conceals considerable chaos. Michael directed the scene from several hundred metres away by walkie-talkie, while shepherds, stylists and crew battled wind and drizzle, coaxing an enormous and decidedly independent flock into position. Land Rovers, temporary fencing and production paraphernalia surrounded the set. Yet through clever composition and careful cropping, Michael makes all of it disappear. What remains is something strangely serene, sensual and surreal.
The contrasts are irresistible: bare skin and billowing wool; softness and scale; solitude and swarm. One vulnerable human figure stands amid hundreds of animals, almost swallowed by the flock yet unmistakably commanding the centre of the composition.
And then there is a tiny detail that Michael particularly loved. Look closely and amongst the mass of pale wool is a single black-faced sheep seemingly gazing directly towards the woman - a wonderfully whimsical little exchange that rewards a second, closer look. Michael chose this particular negative for printing in part because of that moment.
This example is especially desirable because it is an original vintage darkroom print made by Michael himself in the 1970s - not a later reproduction. It is in a mount and has been signed, titled “IWS Nude in Sheep” and dated “Wiltshire 1974” by Michael Joseph on the front, giving this individual print an especially personal connection to its photographer.
The reverse is equally fascinating, retaining Michael Joseph's original studio label together with handwritten annotation identifying it as a darkroom print created at his West Central Street studio in London in 1974 for IWS - a lovely piece of surviving provenance from his working archive.
As one would expect from a genuine photographic object dating from 1974, the print is not pristine. There are minor indentations, surface irregularities and small age-related imperfections, visible on close inspection and consistent with more than fifty years of handling and storage. These have deliberately been left untouched and should be regarded as part of the history and character of this unique vintage piece rather than those of a modern reproduction.
Client: International Wool Secretariat (IWS)
Photographer: Michael Joseph
Location: Wiltshire, England
Date: 1974
Medium: Original vintage silver gelatin darkroom photograph
Signature: Signed, titled and dated by Michael Joseph
Mount: Original period mount, 30 × 24 cm
Edition: Unique vintage darkroom print at this size
Condition: Minor indentations, surface marks and age-related imperfections consistent with a photographic object from 1974
Part pastoral fantasy, part provocative publicity, part perfectly orchestrated photographic theatre, Nude in Sheep encapsulates Michael Joseph's remarkable ability to transform a complicated commercial commission into an image with an independent life - witty, weird and wonderfully memorable.
A genuinely one-of-a-kind vintage photographic object, hand-printed by the photographer more than fifty years ago, preserved in its original mount and personally signed by Michael Joseph himself.
#MichaelJosephLondon #NudeInSheep #MichaelJosephPhotography #VintagePhotography #SilverGelatinPrint #SignedPhotography #1970sPhotography #BritishPhotography #Wiltshire #InternationalWoolSecretariat #FineArtPhotography #VintageDarkroomPrint #SurrealPhotography #PhotographyCollectors #OneOfAKindArt #Bergere #Shepherdess #Womaninwool
Seller's Story
My father, Michael Joseph, was a London-based advertising photographer, active from the mid-1960s to the early 1990s, and best known for his photographs for the Rolling Stones’ Beggars Banquet gatefold.
My continuing mission is to share what we affectionately call “the other photographs”: the lesser-known treasures from his extraordinary archive — original darkroom prints, test prints, alternative frames from major shoots, his celebrated group compositions, and more intimate, personal images.
For this special Solo Seller Auction, I am particularly excited to include a selection from Michael’s 1964 Vietnam archive — photographs that have never previously been seen or offered for sale. These remarkable images reveal a very different side of his work, made when he was just 23 years old.
Alongside Michael’s authentic vintage darkroom prints, I am also presenting a new generation of works: striking prints on aluminium and my own handmade cyanotypes, created from his original negatives and transparencies in the Dordogne sunshine. Some are made on vintage photographic paper retrieved from Michael’s own working library, bringing the archive quite literally into a new generation.
Together, the collection brings photographic history and contemporary experimentation side by side — from unique vintage prints made by Michael himself to bold new interpretations of his remarkable archive.
I hope you enjoy discovering these photographs as much as I enjoy bringing them to light — sometimes preserved exactly as Michael made them, sometimes given an entirely new life.
All works are carefully protected and packed with the attention appropriate to collectible photographic artworks.
For US buyers: customs duties and applicable import charges are paid at source and included in the shipping cost. No additional charges should normally be payable on delivery, subject to any change in regulations.
Translated by Google TranslateDetails
Date of print
1971
Artist
Michael Joseph (1941-)
Sold by
Owner or reseller
Title of artwork
Nude in sheep, small darkroom print by the photographer
Condition
Very fine
Technique
Gelatin-silver print
Height
11.5 cm
Edition
With plain off-white mount
Width
21 cm
Signature
Hand signed
Genre
Nude
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