Picture Perfect Wows — Previewing Houston Center for Photography’s Powerhouse Print Auction

Get ready for a picturesque night. The Houston Center for Photography (HCP) is holding its 44th Print Auction & Gala this Thursday, March 20 at Hotel ZaZa in the Museum District. This year, HCP will honor Malcolm Daniel, the Gus and Lyndall Wortham Curator of Photography at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.

Daniel has led the MFAH’s Department of Photography for more than 10 years and has been a pillar in the H-Town photography community. Prior to his arrival in Houston, Daniel was the head of the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Department of Photographs. Daniel has also served on HCP’s Exhibitions Committee and Advisory Council and guest curated the 2014 Members Exhibitions, so it is no surprise that the organization chose to honor him.

In a nod to Daniel’s curatorial and scholarly focus on the early history of photography, sepia-toned and black-and-white cocktail attire is encouraged at the gala.

Houston Center for Photography recently revealed that the organization is planning to move its headquarters after 40 years at its West Alabama location. Executive director Anne Massoni notes that HCP would like to stay in the Museum District, but is exploring spots throughout Houston. The impending move is planned for late 2026.

Now, to the print auction this year. HCP will feature work by more than 75 artists, from photography greats to mid-career artists to emerging photographers. Gala attendees will be able to bid on 30 live auction lots. The silent lots are available for bidding online via Qtego until 10 pm on the night of the gala — this Thursday. Excitingly, a Buy Now feature, which allows collectors to purchase the silent auction items outright instead of engaging in the bidding process is now available.

As an art advisor, I research and place artwork while educating art-seeking clients. Here are my top five picks from the Houston Center for Photography Print Auction: 

Robert Frank’s Covered Car, Long Beach, California, 1955-56, Live Auction Lot 8

The standout auction lot is Covered Car, Long Beach, California by Robert Frank, one of the most significant photographers of the 20th century. This photograph was included in his influential photo book, The Americans.

Although the gelatin silver print is unsigned (as is typical of photographs of the era), this piece has an incredible provenance. Frank brought this photograph, and others, to Houston in 1969 when he was invited by Geoff Winningham to give a talk at the University of St. Thomas. After the talk, Winningham bought this piece and others from the artist to sell at his gallery, where it was purchased by famed curator of photography Peter C. Bunnell. It’s truly fate that this photograph is now returning to Houston.

Honoree Daniel was instrumental in securing this lot for the auction. As executor of Bunnell’s estate, he facilitated the donation of this and 26 additional works to HCP. (Works by Jerry Uelsmann, Paul Caponigro and Geanna Merola in the auction are also part of this incredible donation). Houston Center for Photography plans to include works from this donation in auctions over the next few years.

Robert Frank has a long history with Houston through the MFAH. Anne Wilkes Tucker, the museum’s founding curator of photography, started collecting Frank’s work and edited New York to Nova Scotia, a landmark retrospective of the photographer, in 1986. The MFAH owns more than 350 of Frank’s photographs and the original maquettes for his photo books The Americans and Lines of My Hand. The MFAH also preserves and circulates Frank’s films. In 2023, the MFAH organized a show that examined Frank’s work from the same period as this lot, along with photographer Todd Webb’s work.

Krista Svalbonas’ What Remains 17, 2023, laser cut pigment print, Live Auction Lot 13

Interdisciplinary art Krista Svalbonas uses many art forms in her work but always relies on photography in some way. What Remains 17 is a stunning, process-heavy piece that examines her Lithuanian and Latvian roots and explores themes of home and displacement. She laser cuts traditional Baltic textile designs over images of imposing Soviet-era architecture, reclaiming her cultural heritage.

The intricate, lace-like patterning creates a shadowed silhouette on the matting beneath it. This piece is incredibly intriguing visually layered with meaning.

David Levinthal’s Untitled, from the series “Western,” 2023, printed 2025, pigment print on cotton, Live Auction Lot 17

Throughout his career, acclaimed photographer David Levinthal has examined the collective consciousness and myth making through constructed imagery. Levinthal uses miniature figurines and toys to create detailed tableaux, which he photographs. This untitled work captures a cowboy riding a horse alongside a bull, with a shallow depth of field.

So very little of the image is in focus. The cowboy and the hat he is holding in his hand are highlighted as he rides into the bright field. This series, Western, recalls one of Levinthal’s most celebrated series, Wild West, which originally utilized large-scale Polaroids. With the advent of digital art, Levinthal has switched to using digital cameras for his new work.

Levinthal has had a long relationship with HCP’s honoree, and in 2017, Daniel organized a retrospective of the photographer’s work.

Matthew Finley’s Halloween, mom made our costumes. John and I must have been fighting, 2024, archival pigment print with varnish and glitter, mounted to board, Live Auction Lot 22

Photographer Matthew Finley was recently featured in the HCP exhibition “TOUCH / do we exist without photography,” which examined how artists weave queer narratives into historical representation. The artist created this series, An Impossibly Normal Life, from collected vintage snapshots, creating his uncle’s imagined and idealized life as a way to connect with him. In this piece, the artist playfully layered glitter over the bunny costume, referencing family photos.

There are two pieces from this series in the auction. The second piece, which is Silent Auction Lot 148, more directly references the fictionalized queer life of the artist’s uncle.

Prospex Park’s Wide West V, 2024, printed 2025, archival pigment print, Live Auction Lot 30

Los Angeles-based artist Prospex Park reimagines Americana through portraiture that employs artificial intelligence. Wide West V is striking in its size (more than five feet wide) and bright colors. This uncanny and strange work asks us to examine the mythologized trope of the cowboy.

AI in photography has been a trending topic of discussion over the last few years, and Houston Center for Photography directly examines this use of technology in fine art by including two works that use AI in the auction. The second work is Houston-based artist Rashed Haq’s Trial2Q10, which is Silent Auction Lot 139.

Houston Center for Photography’s 44th Print Auction will take place this Thursday, March 20 from 6 pm 10 pm at Hotel ZaZa. For more information and tickets to the event, go here. View lots and register here. 

Author’s note: Haley Berkman Karren is an art advisor, appraiser, independent curator and writer who has contributed to the Houston Center for Photography’s Spot Magazine as well as juried an HCP exhibition. She is also the founder and director of Karren Art Advisory, specializing in modern and contemporary art, photography and digital art.