Do you recognize this guy?

Recently, in an event I can think of no better way to describe than serendipitous, I was opening a parcel from M + B Gallery for the upcoming George Eastman House auction which contained this very photograph. As I uncovered the print, President Obama’s voice came through my office computer speakers in an address to the nation on NPR. Instant goosebumps! Who would have thought back in 1980 that this young charismatic man hamming it up for the camera would become president?

The photographer, Lisa Jack, is now a psychologist who never imagined that these images would see the light of day. Who knew? Lesson learned: you never know when you could be capturing the likes of a future president, so save your photographs!

And in case you haven’t seen it yet, take a minute and check out M + B Gallery’s collection of the entire Barack Obama, Occidental College, 1980 photo session here: http://www.mbart.com/artists/_Lisa%20Jack/_other%20works/.

I’ll be posting my next auction blog soon… let’s see what will cross my desk by then!

When I graduated from the Museum’s Photographic Preservation and Collections Management program in 2007, I never imagined I would be back in Rochester working at the Eastman House.

Since January, I have been involved in the upcoming auction, and every day has been an enlightening experience as I continually gain insight into the TREMENDOUS effort that goes into organizing a benefit auction of this magnitude. There are still about 5 months to go before the main event and the online portion go live, and I can say that I am already overwhelmed by the response we have received from so many people we’ve reached out to.

Since I have the fortunate experience of working at a job where every day is like Christmas (and I get to  unwrap yet another fantastic donation), without further ado I introduce you to a donation that tickles me with delight every time I lay eyes on it. It’s one of two works we have by Cornell Capa, and it is titled Female Human Cannonball (1947)— a most fitting image as I embark on this new and adventurous fundraising extravaganza!

But this blog won’t just serve as an outlet for bragging rights about all of the fantastic works that have been donated. I’ll be giving you my take on some of the auction’s featured highlights, bringing you up-to-date information about the event, taking you behind-the-scenes, and keeping you all in the loop of the exciting announcements yet to come— because new things happen here every day!

Talk to you again soon….