Record high sales, 5000 visitors and a media flood! Thank you Paris and Galerie Thierry Bigaignon!

Two boys on pier, 1950, the first print Harold sold to Edward Steichen when he was nineteen.

After three glorious months of record-high sales, a flood of media attention and over 5000 visitors, Galerie Thierry Bigaignon celebrated the last day of the exhibition Contagious Optimism: Harold Feinstein the early years (1940s and 1950s) on April 30th. It was also the final day of Le Mois de la Photo Grand Paris, a yearly photography festival in Paris, which means that the work got even more exposure.

Francoise Hebel announces Mois de la Photographie Grand Paris at a Paris press conference.Harold Feinstein work appears on screen represented by Galerie Thierry Bigaignon, one of the authorized venues for the festival © Thierry Bigaignon

Judith Thompson and Thierry Bigaignon before the opening, January 31, 2017.
Everything about Thierry’s vision, concept, and execution of the show was extraordinary and I will miss his early morning texts sharing yet another sale or yet another visit from a news crew or special client. I am most appreciative of his manner of introducing Harold’s work to the European market, where the reception has been remarkable.

I’m already anticipating next year’s Part II of the retrospective that will cover Harold’s work in the 60s through the 90s. I think I can catch my breath before then!

Aside from the great image above, top-sellers from the exhibition included the images below.

125th Street from elevated train, 1950
Boardwalk Sheet-music Montage, Coney Island, 1950
Boys Diving Into Surf, 1954