Albuquerque
is a city of questionable allure, a desert-washed blip in the landscape of the
Land of Enchantment. The city serves as the backdrop to the massively popular TV
show Breaking Bad, and in a recent interview with The New York Times, the show’s creator, Vince Gilligan,
explains that it was Abuquerque’s “stealth charm” that attracted him to the
city, elaborating that one of the city’s greatest assets is the piece of Route
66 that still runs through it, “dotted with old neon motel signs like that
great Ernst Haas photo.”
 |
Ernst Haas, Route 66, Albuquerque, New Mexico, 1969, printed 2003.
Estimate $5,000 to $7,500. At auction October 17.
© Estate of Ernst Haas |
Recognized
primarily for his color work, Haas was an early pioneer and eventual master of
the medium. Haas is perhaps best known for his iconic photograph of traffic
along Route 66 in the rain-soaked streets of Albuquerque. The water oozes into
all of the bumps and imperfections in the asphalt and reflects back the glowing
neon lights of the city. Born in Vienna in 1921, Haas acquired his first
camera, a Rolleiflex, in a manner quite suited to the questionable dealings
depicted on Breaking Bad: he got it
on the black market in exchange for 10 kilograms of margarine he’d received for
his 25th birthday.
Haas
joined the Magnum photography agency at the invitation of co-founder Robert
Capa, and went on to publish the first color photographic essay for LIFE Magazine–a
24 page spread depicting 1950s New York City. Haas was included in Edward
Steichen’s groundbreaking Family of Man exhibit at the Museum of Modern Art and
went on to have a retrospective of his work at MoMA in 1962.
Serving
as Lot 237 in our upcoming Fine Photographs & Photobooks auction on October 17th, Route 66, Albuquerque,
New Mexico by Ernst Haas has been gracing our promotional mailer all
summer. Haas once remarked that “Photography is a bridge between science and
art.” Breaking Bad tells the story of
a chemistry teacher who uses his scientific mind to craft the purest of
methamphetamines and build a drug empire in Albuquerque in order to provide a
future for his family. Haas’ photograph of Route 66 takes this desert town
swollen with gas stations and motels and gives it a newfound, rain-washed
brilliance.
Thanks to Alex Van Clief of Swann's Photographs department for this guest post! Labels: 20th Century Photographs, albuquerque, Alex Van Clief, breaking bad, Ernst Haas, fine photographs, television, Vince Gilligan
