Exhibition of Naked Madonna Photos by Martin Schreiber Take England By Storm!

Art Daily



BRIGHTON.- In 1979 the as yet unknown 20 year old Madonna posed nude for just $30 for New York photographer Martin Schreiber. Later when she had become a global icon the shots appeared in Playboy, catapulting Schreiber to fame. 30 years on the original photographs are on show in the UK exclusively from the Impure Art Gallery.

The Private View opening party had to be spread over three nights due to the high demand. They were a huge success, which far exceeded the small gallery’s expectations. Jamie McCartney of Impure Art – “We sold a lot of prints, it was unbelievable. One of the editions is now up to 8 of 25. There are two collectors enquiring about the entire series of 34 photos, which is fantastic.”

At print number 8 the price rises and again at 14 and at 21. Clever investors are buying the prints before the first seven of each are sold. Now is a great time to buy before the exhibition moves to London in July. With more exhibitions planned this year in Turkey, Russia and the USA, it’s just a matter of time before the photos sell out.

The series of black and white photographs of Madonna show her as the exceptionally beautiful young woman she was. Modelling to pay her way through dance school, her toned body, perfect breasts, great skin, luxuriant pubic hair and mop of curls were a draw for several photographers. The languid, innocent look in her eyes betrays nothing of the pop superstar and business genius she was to become.

A similar Lee Friedlander photograph of Madonna from the same year recently sold at auction for $37,500. Schreiber’s photographs are seen as more classy and with growing interest in his work by collectors these prints could be an excellent investment with prices starting at only £1600 for the smaller sized 1985 edition and £3400 for the 60X40cm 30th anniversary edition.

Schreiber began working freelance for the New York Times and in 1971 was a runner up in the first Life Magazine photography contest. This was the start of a brilliant career. In 1977 he began teaching a course on photographing the nude and his first book entitled “Bodyscapes” was published in 1980.

In 1985 though Schreiber got the lucky break artists dream of. Madonna was on the cover of Time magazine. He dug out his nude photos of the former model and brief girlfriend and sold them to Playboy. They appeared amidst much controversy in the September 1985 issue.

The original 1985 prints were exhibited a few times in the USA and Europe but have since gathered dust at Schreiber’s French home as he concentrated on other projects. Persuaded to exhibit the series again for the 30th anniversary, he released this new edition of larger size prints, which have attracted so much attention.

Jamie McCartney of Impure Art – “When you have wonderful nude photos of a beautiful young woman, taken by a great photographer and she just happens to be a global icon, it’s a no brainer, the show is going to sell out.”

IMPURE ART is the UK’s only permanent, commercial, erotic art gallery. Established only a year ago and dealing in art broadly described as ‘anything from nude to rude’ it has fast acquired a reputation for daring and exciting shows of extremely high quality. The gallery, in Brighton’s famous Lanes, represents over 100 artists, sculptors and photographers.

The Madonna Nudes features as part the Brighton Festival Fringe and runs until June 28

Nude Madonna pics go on show

ITN via Yahoo!

Pictures of a nude Madonna taken as an unknown 20-year-old have gone on display.

The snaps were taken in 1979 by photographer Martin Schreiber before she maDe her name as a singer.

He described the struggling, fledgling star as having "a fantastic body. Perfect."

Madonna, who was doing some part-time modelling to pay her way through dance school, was paid $30 for the shoot.

Schreiber added: "She was pliant but I would say very quiet, maybe shy I'm not sure.

"I use the word taciturn, kind of moody, I felt. Not really into it but she was doing it. She was making a living doing it."

Schreiber claims the pair became lovers after Madonna, with little money and few friends, moved into his flat for two weeks.

The photographs of the young Madonna are part of the Brighton Festival Fringe and are on sale for £3,400.

The Naked Madonna Playboy Photos 30th Anniversary Exhibition ends on June 28.

Nude Madonna pics on display in Brighton

The Argus

A series of saucy black and white photographs of Madonna are to go on display at a Brighton gallery.

The pictures were taken in 1979 by New York photographer Martin Schreiber who paid the then unknown singer just $30 – about £21.

The photos were later published in Playboy.

Thirty years later, the original shots are to be displayed exclusively at the Impure Art Gallery in Ship Street Gardens, Brighton.

Co-owner Jamie McCartney said: “It’s very exciting to be exhibiting these for our first anniversary exhibition.”

There will be limited edition photographs, along with copies of the original Playboy magazine, books, posters, postcards and other memorabilia.

The exhibition runs from May 1 to June 28. For more information go to www.impureart.com

Nude photo of Madonna goes for $37,500

CNN

Christie's auctioned this nude photo of Madonna (partially shown) taken by Lee Friedlander for $37,500.

NEW YORK (CNN) -- A nude photograph of pop singer Madonna was sold for $37,500 Thursday afternoon at a Christie's Art House auction.

The photo, originally expected to go for between $10,000 and $15,000, was purchased for more than double its original estimated selling price, a Christie's spokesperson confirmed. The 13-inch by 8 5/8-inch framed photograph was purchased by an anonymous bidder over the phone.

The full frontal photograph was one of several taken by American photographer Lee Friedlander in 1979. Madonna, then a cash-strapped student, received $25 for the entire photo shoot.

Most of the pictures from the shoot were ultimately featured in Playboy magazine in 1985.
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Yahoo!

NEW YORK – A full-frontal, nude photo of a 20-year-old Madonna fetched $37,500 at auction Thursday, an apparent record auction price for a photograph of the superstar singer.

An unnamed European buyer bought the picture, which had been expected to sell for up to $15,000, according to Christie's auction house.

Madonna, then known as Madonna Louise Ciccone, was a dancer trying to make ends meet when she answered a newspaper ad seeking a nude model. She may have earned as little as $25 for the 1979 photo session.

Lee Friedlander's raw, explicit black-and-white image appeared in Playboy in 1985. Friedlander has said of the photo session that Madonna "seemed very confident, a street-wise girl. She told me she was putting a band together but half the kids that age are doing that. She was a good professional model."

The photograph auctioned Thursday was one of six from that shoot that appeared in Playboy; the other five pictures were sold together in 2003 for $7,170.

A Herb Ritts photo of Madonna's "True Blue" album cover, which sold for more than $15,000 in 2006, is the most expensive photograph of the singer to sell previously at auction, Christie's said.

Another photograph of Madonna, by Helmut Newton, sold Thursday for $18,750, beating a $15,000 estimate. In that shot, also sold to Playboy in the 1980s, Madonna sports lingerie, curly blond hair and a seductive expression. A man kneels beside her.

The Madonna photos were among 150 images, by some of the biggest names in photography, auctioned from the collection of Leon and Michaela Constantiner. They feature fashion and other celebrity icons.

The sale fetched more than $900,000 in all, including a top price of $242,500 for "Sie Kommen," Newton's images of nude models for the Italian and French versions of Vogue in the 1980s.

Nude Madonna Photo Goes on Auction Block

People
A full-frontal photograph of Madonna taken in 1979 without any material on the Material Girl and then later published in Playboy is going public – for a price.

Christie's auction house in New York, which will hold its sale Feb. 12, expects the picture to go for $10,000, at the very least, the Associated Press reports.

Matthieu Humery, head of Christie's photography department, says Madonna was a financially strapped 20-year-old dancer when she responded to photographer Lee Friedlander's newspaper ad seeking a nude model. Her fee: $25.

Playboy published six photos from the shoot in 1985, though the one going on sale is "maybe the most explicit one," says Humery. – Stephen M. Silverman
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You know, with the bush she was sporting back then, we doubt it would be too explicit.
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"There's not a hint of glamorizing," he added. "That's what makes it powerful."

He said he knows of no other prints of the black-and-white photo.

Friedlander has said of the photo session that Madonna "seemed very confident, a street-wise girl. She told me she was putting a band together but half the kids that age are doing that. She was a good professional model."

The other five pictures from the Playboy spread were sold together in 2003 for $7,170.

Another, later photo of Madonna, by Helmut Newton, is in the auction and is also expected to fetch $10,000 to $15,000. In that shot, also sold to Playboy, Madonna is wearing lingerie, curly blond hair and a seductive expression. A man kneels beside her.

The Madonna photos are among 150 images by some of the biggest names in photography that are being sold from the collection of Leon and Michaela Constantiner.