Lot 32

George Platt Lynes & Monroe Wheeler, Untitled. Early 1930s.

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George Platt Lynes & Monroe Wheeler, Untitled. Early 1930s.

Estimate: $10,000 - $15,000

Starting Bid: $7,500

(0 Bids)

by Swann Auction Galleries
August 13, 2026 10:30 AM EDT
Live Auction
104 East 25th Street
New York, NY, US 10010

George Platt Lynes (1907-1955) & Monroe Wheeler (1899-1988)

Untitled. Early 1930s.
Silver print

  • Provenance:
    The Monroe Wheeler Archive

    Notes:
    This photograph comes from a group of approximately 20 silver prints discovered in two manila envelopes (like the unmarked envelopes used to send risqué and "illegal" material through the mail in the first part of the 20th century) in the Monroe Wheeler Estate. The envelopes were marked "Intimacies" and "MW-GPL PRIVATE."

    George Platt Lynes and Wheeler met in 1927 when Lynes was 20, and these photographs were presumably made of and by each other early in their relationship (this also corresponds to Lynes' introduction to photography). The prints were found in a box that held personal mementos, private notes and letters, some physique images cut out from magazines, and gifts given to/from the Lynes-Wheeler-Glenway Wescott triad, including a small bottle of "Love Potion No. 9" and a set of diamond-studded cufflinks with a note from Lynes to Monroe expressing his love. The boxes were stored in an attic for 25 years, untouched, along with other private material from Monroe Wheeler's Estate that was left to Anatole Pohorilenko and left untouched until Pohorilenko's death in 2014.

    We can presume they were seen only by the trio and possibly some very close friends. In most cases, the images are unique. This image is one of three examples, each a very slight variant (mostly differences in border and paper sizes, this one cropped more tightly). The print is warm-toned and lush in its treatment of the human form, here both velvety rich and defined with compelling contrast.

    The photographs are now housed in the Monroe Wheeler Archive, and to date they have largely not been shown, aside from four that were included in David Zwirner's 2019 exhibition The Young and Evil: Queer Modernism in New York, 1930-1955.
  • Dimensions: The image 6 3/4 x 8 7/8 in. (17.1 x 22.5 cm.)
  • Medium: Silver print
  • Condition: Please contact the Specialist for the auction to request a condition report.

    Condition reports and additional images are provided as a courtesy and should be used by you to aid in the formation of your own opinion regarding condition. All material is sold subject to Swann's standard Terms and Conditions of Sale as published in our catalogues and posted on our website, and include the following terms: (1) all property is sold "as-is"; and (2) works cannot be returned on the basis of condition.

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Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
$0 $149 $10
$150 $499 $25
$500 $999 $50
$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $5,999 $200
$6,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,000
$50,000 $99,999 $5,000
$100,000 $199,999 $10,000
$200,000 $499,999 $20,000
$500,000 + $50,000