IRVING PENN (1917–2009)
Miles Davis Hand on Trumpet, New York, 1986
selenium toned gelatin silver print, printed 1998
signed, titled, dated [with print date], numbered '18395' and annotated in pencil with stamped photographer's copyright credit, reproduction limitation and edition information in ink (verso)
image: 10¹⁄₈ x 10¹⁄₂ in. (25.7 x 26.7 cm.)
sheet: 13⁷⁄₈ x 11 in. (35.2 x 27.9 cm.)
This work is from an edition of nine.

Åmell Gallery, Stockholm, 2014;
Sotheby's, New York, April 7, 2021, lot 8;
acquired from the above sale by the present owner.

On July 1st, 1986, Irving Penn sat down with art director Eiko Ishioka to photograph the legendary Miles Davis for his upcoming album Tutu. Newly signed to Warner Brothers, Davis’ breakthrough album would send his career into the modern age with synthesizers and drum machines underlying his vocals. Together, the three of them captured some of the most prolific images of the visionary jazz musician to this day, and earned Ishioka her first and only grammy for Best Album Package.

However, the shoot got off to an uneasy start. When Davis walked into the studio, Penn recalls trying to engage with him and instead was “completely ignored”:

“Then, for about an hour, we went to work. At the end, I said, ‘Thank you very much.’ He got up, came over to me, and kissed me on the mouth. I didn’t know what to say. We shook hands, and he left. Later, I got the chance to know his music, and it struck me as being visual art of a most profound kind. How terrible I couldn’t share that with him then…This is one of the heartbreaks of the profession…I have only the kiss to remember.” (Penn as quoted in “The Stranger Behind the Camera,” Vogue, November 2004)

Despite the initial tension, Penn and Davis were able to create a masterful suite of images for the musician’s new chapter. A striking example of Penn’s signature polished compositions, the present lot honors both the man and the instrument behind this triumphant late-era album.