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Nash Photography Sale Will Benefit Museum

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TIMES ART WRITER

Pop musician Graham Nash has decided to auction his widely acclaimed collection of photography, but he won’t take all the money and run. A generous portion of the proceeds will go to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art for the acquisition of non-traditional photographs.

A sale of more than 450 works from Nash’s collection, scheduled for April 25 at Sotheby’s New York, is expected to bring more than $2 million. Nash intends to recoup his investment--an amount that has yet to be determined by his accountants. Once he has recovered his costs, he will split his profit with the museum. In addition, Nash will donate about 140 of the most up-to-date photographs to the museum.

Why is he selling?

“I love the thrill of the chase and the energy of new fields. In the ‘60s, that energy was in rock ‘n’ roll. In the ‘70s, it was in collecting photography,” said Nash, who rose to fame in the ‘60s with the rock group Crosby, Stills & Nash.

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During the ‘80s, Nash said, his interests turned from photography’s historical spectrum to contemporary works done with experimental techniques including computers. He has collected up-to-the-minute photographs, but now he will turn that job over to an institution that can handle the job professionally.

Nash’s gift of about 140 works from the ‘80s will give a considerable boost to the museum’s small collection. The auction proceeds should put the County Museum of Art on the map as a collector of contemporary photography. While photography prices have risen dramatically along with the rest of the art market, photographs are still relatively affordable. Nash’s money gift--which could total several hundred thousand dollars--will be significant.

“We are delighted and very grateful, particularly at a time when gifts to museums are very hard to develop. Graham Nash’s generosity will go a long, long way to help us build a mature department of photography,” said museum director Earl A. Powell.

The Nash auction will be “the most important single-owner sale of photographs ever to come to auction,” according to Beth Gates-Warren, director of Sotheby’s department of photographs.

The most expensive piece, expected to bring at least $60,000, is Paul Outerbridge’s 1927 photograph depicting himself in a mask and top hat.

A complete report on Nash’s collection will be in the Tuesday Calendar section.

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