Apioneer of American modernist photography, Paul Strand was one of the most influential photographers of the 20th century. Throughout a long and illustrious career, he popularised what was termed ‘straight photography’ – an approach that emphasises the unmanipulated capture , in sharp focus and detail, of what the camera actually saw.

Born Nathaniel Paul Stransky in New York City in 1890, Strand studied photography from 1904 to 1909 under the renowned documentary photographer Lewis Hine at the city’s Ethical Culture School.

It was through Hine that Strand was introduced to the celebrated photographer and champion of modern art Alfred Stieglitz, who would later give Strand a show at his 291 gallery. Stieglitz also promoted Strand’s pictures in his quarterly publication Camera Work.

From abstraction and pictorialist studies in the 1910s, Strand began making machine photographs and early documentary films in the 1920s, notably Manhatta (1921). His most recognisable works often simply revealed reality – and, in the 1930s, he became increasingly interested in using the camera as a tool for social reform.

Young Farmer, Luzzara, Italy, 1953 vintage gelatin silver print 4¾ x 5⅞in (12.1 x 14.9cm), titled ‘Young Farmer’ by Paul Strand and titled ‘Luzzara, 1953’ by Hazel Strand on the print verso. Estimate: $20,000 - 30,000 (£15,000 - 22,000)

Wild Rose, Orgeval, 1956, vintage gelatin silver print 9½ x 7½in (24.1 x 17.8cm) signed, titled and dated by Paul Strand on the print verso ‘The Garden, La Briardière, Orgeval, 1956’. Estimate: $10,000 - 15,000 (£7,000 - 11,000)

The Nile, Luxor, Egypt, 1959, vintage gelatin silver print 9¾ x 7½in (24.8 x 17.8cm) signed, on behalf of Paul Strand by Hazel Strand on the print verso. Estimate: $10,000 - 15,000 (£7,000 - 11,000

Grazing Horses, Taos, New Mexico, 1930, gelatin silver print 9¾ x 12¼in (24.8 x 31.1cm) signed, titled and dated by Paul Strand on the print verso. Estimate: $15,000 - 25,000 (£11,000 - 18,000)

When taking portrait shots, Strand would often mount a false brass lens on the side of his camera, while taking the actual photograph using a second working lens hidden under his arm. This meant his subjects were probably often unaware they were being photographed – a technique that has been criticised, but was nevertheless used by Strand to great effect in showing social realities.

In 1936, Strand was one of the founders of the Photo League, an association of photographers who advocated using their art to promote social reform and political causes. Rather than pursue a particular aesthetic, they focused on capturing “the human condition”. The League was put on the Attorney General’s List of Subversive Organizations in December 1947, being suspected of having ‘Communist sympathies’, and was wound up in 1951.

In June 1949, Strand left the United States and the remaining 27 years of his life were spent in Orgeval, in northern France. He never learned to speak French, but remained productive with the help of his third wife, fellow photographer Hazel Kingsbury Strand. Curious to the last, he found new inspiration in the landscapes of France, Italy, Scotland and Africa.

Sasha Thomas is a Press Officer at Bonhams.

Photographic Memories

The works in this sale come from the collection of Sarah Hoffman, who gives her personal recollections of Paul Strand, his work and growing up in a creative milieu:

“My brother Matthew and I grew up not only with family photographs – but with photographers as family. Paul Strand was one such photographer who became a close family friend. For me, this collection of Paul’s photographs is so personal, as it connects really directly to my childhood memories and to feelings associated with home. Paul and his wife Hazel were very much members of our family, and these images were gifted to us by him and, after his death, by Hazel. My father Michael E. Hoffman (1942-2001) was a publisher at Aperture from the 1960s to 2001, then Director of the Aperture Foundation. He was the primary proponent of Paul’s work – bringing it from the privacy of his home studio and darkroom into the public eye through the creation of the portfolio published by Aperture.

“Despite him being a pioneer of photography, to me – growing up – Paul was simply a man who made the photographs that often hung on our walls or were in the form of Xerox copies strewn on our living room floor for my father to sequence for a book or an exhibit. The Strands had no children themselves, but my father became like a son to them.

“I have vivid memories of the Strand’s home in Orgeval, which I visited as a child, though at the time did not understand its significance. After Paul’s death in 1976, Hazel moved to Millerton, New York, where she and my father worked with others to start the Paul Strand Archive.”