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It’s hard to think that the Center for Photography at Woodstock (CPW) has been running its annual fundraising auctions for 34 years now – just as it’s hard for some to think that the annual event that used to take place at the old Woodstock Town Hall on Tinker Street is now ensconced at the tony Diamond Mills in Saugerties. What have stayed the same, over all these years, are the platinum quality of the photographs up for auction each year – which range from early classics to the latest contemporary artists du jour – as well as the great mix of folks who come out for the event, from top art collectors to a host of sterling photographers, both legendary and new-to-the-scene.
Add in the awards-ceremony element of the annual gala – which honors San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMoMA) senior curator of photography Sandra S. Phillips with CPW’s Vision Award for her outstanding dedication and service to the field of photography – and the scope of CPW’s mature reputation as one of the region’s top cultural institutions comes into view.
Among the artists whose work will be up for auction, for prices between $300 and $9,000 a pop, are such legends as Alfred Eisenstadt, Edward Steichen, Aaron Suskind, Weegee, Robert Capa and Minor White, and recent hotties including John Dugdale, Jeff Milstein, Yumiko Izu, Christa Parravani, Liliana Porter, Mary Ellen Mark and William Wegman, many of them deeply affiliated with the Center.
Appointed Curator of Photography for SFMoMA some 26 years ago, Phillips is a former curator of the Vassar Art Gallery and CPW staff member, back in its earliest days, who has become known as one of the artform’s leading champions over the years.
The event runs from 4 to 8 p.m. at the Diamond Mills Hotel on Partition Street in Saugerties, with a variety of admission price options. The live and silent auctions take place toward the event’s conclusion. Those seeking a better sense of what will be on sale are invited to visit the Center for Photography website or its main gallery space at 59 Tinker Street in Woodstock through Friday, October 18.
Center for Photography at Woodstock’s 35th annual Auction & Visions Award Gala, Saturday, October 19, 4-8: p.m., $35-$100+, Diamond Mills Hotel, Saugerties; (845) 679-9957, www.cpw.org.
Join the family! 
