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Karen Blixen in Rungstedlund, Denmark, 1961 by Peter Beard

Artwork by Peter Beard, Karen Blixen in Rungstedlund, Denmark, 1961

Peter Beard
Karen Blixen in Rungstedlund, Denmark, 1961

gelatin silver print
signed, dated 1961, with extended caption in blood (?) and white ink, as well as an applied wipe in the same pigment; with a Time Is Now label and hand stamp. Printed later.
9.75 x 6.75 in ( 24.8 x 17.1 cm ) ( image )

Auction Estimate: $6,000.00$4,000.00 - $6,000.00

Price Realized $3,840.00
Sale date: March 25th 2025

Provenance:
Swann Galleries, auction, New York, 17 October 2013, lot 226
Estate of Robert Noakes
This photograph of Karen Blixen was taken during Peter Beard's first trip to Copenhagen in December 1961, when Beard was introduced to Blixen through his cousin Jerome Hill. Beard returned to Copenhagen a second time in June 1962 and continued photographing Karen Blixen, building a friendship. Blixen, through a letter of introduction, connected Beard to her former majordomo Kamante Gatura, whom Beard found in Kenya during his time in Africa, and would later live with in Hog Ranch, forming the Hog Ranch Art Department. 

Karen Blixen was a Danish author who wrote under the pseudonym Isak Dinesen and wrote "Out of Africa", "Shadows in the Grass", and "Gothic Tales". It was through his friendship with Karen that The Rungstedlund Foundation and the literary executors of Blixen’s estate were compelled to grant Peter Beard the film rights to "Out of Africa" in 1967, feeling he was the artist who would be most sympathetic in translating the book into cinematic form.

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Peter Beard
(1938-2020)

HighlightsWatch Artist

Peter Beard was an American photographer and diarist best known for his powerful and evocative documentary images of Africa. Born in New York City, Beard’s work often blends photography, painting, drawing, and text, creating unique photo collages that tell compelling stories about the African wilderness and its endangered species. Educated at Yale University, Beard studied art history under the mentorship of renowned abstract painter Josef Albers. His first exhibition at the Blum Helman Gallery in New York City in 1975 marked the beginning of a prolific career. Beard's art gained widespread recognition with landmark museum exhibitions at the International Center of Photography, New York (1977), and the Centre national de la photographie in Paris (1997). His work was also featured in galleries across Berlin, London, Toronto, Madrid, Milan, Tokyo, and Vienna.

Beard’s photographs are included in private collections worldwide, celebrated for their raw beauty and profound narrative. In April 2020, after a mysterious disappearance from his Long Island home, Beard was found deceased following an extensive nineteen-day search. His legacy continues to inspire with his distinctive fusion of art, nature, and documentary photography.