A Rare Lot Of NASA Photographs Is Hitting The Auction Block This November

Stargazers and art collectors in particular will be enthralled by the rare collection of space photography that has hit the auction block this month. The collection, a whopping 2,400 photographs, known as Voyage To Another World: The Victor Martin-Malburet Photograph Collection, may be one of the most intriguing photography lots to date thanks to its out-of-this-world subject matter—something that is often overlooked or passed off as more based in science than art-focused.

“The astronauts are often portrayed as great scientists and heroes, but rarely are they hailed as some of the most significant photographers of all time. The early pioneers of Mercury and Gemini were given as a canvas space and the Earth; the Apollo astronauts an alien world,” astronaut-photographer Victor Martin-Malburet explained in a press release. “From the thin protections of their space capsules and EMUs (Extravehicular Mobility Units), they captured, with skill and daring, photographs which immediately embraced the iconography of the sublime, inspiring awe and wonder.”

The art-meets-science auction will be comprised of thousands of original vintage photographs that showcase the “artistic heritage of the golden age of space exploration,” including some of NASA’s first missions and is considered to be the most comprehensive private collection of NASA photographs ever to be presented at auction—including many photographs that have never been seen by the public. 

The photographs are set to fetch anywhere from US$900 to US$25,000 depending on the given images and have received museum acclaim in major art exhibitions from the Grand Palais in Paris to the Henie Onstad Kunstsenter in Oslo.

The entire collection will be available online from present to November 20, 2020. For more information or to register to bid on the rare lot, be sure to visit the official Christie’s auction house website.

See also: Tatler's Guide to Visiting Outer Space