Alberto Korda (1928–2001) - Niña sonriente en una granja de campesinos

Extraordinary Auction: “Cuba: The Women of Korda.” An unseen look: the Cuban woman through Korda’s lens For the first time, Catawiki presents a themed auction entirely dedicated to the women photographed by Alberto Korda, one of the great masters of Cuban and universal photography. ** Description of this particular photograph: One of the most tender and emblematic images of Alberto Korda’s humanist gaze. The texture of the wood and the spontaneity of the smile create a portrait of purity and optimism, where childish innocence becomes a metaphor for the future of the country. * These images —directly from his personal archive and certified by his daughter and heir, Diana Díaz López— reveal a lesser-known, yet deeply revealing facet of his work: Korda’s view of Cuban femininity from the 1950s until his death. The combination among: • Direct provenance from the author’s archive. • The personal and legal certification of Diana Díaz. • The image quality, aesthetics, and historical value of each photograph. Turn these pieces into collectible items of the highest cultural and economic value, whose prestige and value will only increase over time. Before becoming the visual chronicler of the Revolution, Alberto Korda was a fashion and advertising photographer. In his Havana studio, he photographed models, actresses, and women of high society, capturing tropical elegance, sensuality, and feminine sophistication of the pre-revolutionary era. His mastery of natural light, clean framing, and empathy with his subjects defined a modern, elegant style that would soon transcend the commercial sphere. With the revolutionary triumph of 1959, Korda did not abandon that aesthetic sensibility, but transformed it. From then on, the woman became for him a symbol of dignity, work, motherhood, and struggle. His camera captured milicianas armed with composure and serenity, girls with futures in their eyes, mothers with children in their arms, workers and students, always with a deeply humanist, respectful, and luminous vision. These photographs not only document a era; they are portraits of the strength and beauty of women in all their dimensions. In them, the Cuban woman appears as a silent protagonist of a transforming society, and as a muse of an artist who knew how to see in her face the essence of change. * Original copies from Korda’s personal archive. Authenticity and provenance guaranteed Each photograph offered in this auction comes directly from Alberto Korda’s personal archive. They are made from original negatives, preserving the tonal richness and depth characteristic of his work. The Certificate of Authenticity signed by Diana Díaz López — THE ONLY person legally recognized and authorized to authenticate her father’s work — constitutes an absolute guarantee of legitimacy. Diana Díaz López has, for decades, been the custodian of her father’s personal archive, and her role as guardian of that legacy has been recognized both in Cuba and internationally. No other person in the world has the legal authority to issue COAs for Alberto Korda’s works. Therefore, acquiring a photograph with her certifying signature ensures a direct and legitimate link to the author, his original archive, and his family history. In the art market, this legitimacy is more than a guarantee: it is a safe investment, a badge of exclusivity, and protection against the proliferation of counterfeit copies or unverified prints that circulate without support. It is important to note that copies made in later years lost much of the original quality, as the negatives deteriorated over time. The photographs in this auction therefore retain an intensity and purity of tones that cannot be replicated. Alberto Korda and the Cuban woman: beauty, strength, and sensitivity. Alberto Díaz Gutiérrez, known as Alberto Korda (1928–2001), was an artist with a refined and deeply human gaze. His early photographs, taken in the 1950s, were portraits of elegant women, models, and actresses of Havana’s thriving pre-revolutionary scene. Korda mastered advertising aesthetics, glamour, and classic composition, in images that are today considered pioneers of fashion photography in Latin America. After 1959, his lens turned to the women of the people, without losing the delicacy of his initial gaze. He portrayed milicianas with rifles on their shoulders, nurses, farmers, teachers, and mothers, and also schoolgirls and girls from humble neighborhoods, all under one vision: the woman as the nation’s vital force. Korda transformed the image of the woman in Cuba: she was no longer an aesthetic object, but a symbol of dignity and protagonism. His style, combining beauty, empathy, and sobriety, created a visual narrative in which femininity was also resilience, tenderness, and hope. This sensitivity, beyond politics, makes Korda one of the most important female portraitists in Latin America and a photographer who knew how to see the soul behind the face. Notes: Some descriptions are accompanied by illustrations from books about this image; the books shown are not included with the photograph for sale. The illustrative portraits by photographer Alberto Korda are also not included in the sale, nor other illustrative photographs. Important: The photographs will be shipped well protected so they arrive to their recipient in perfect condition.

Estimation:€1,200

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