The Thursday, Feb. 12, sale of Fine Photographs at Swann celebrates the technical innovation and artistic vision that have defined the medium, from pioneering 19th-century work to mid-century street photography to contemporary conceptual images made with photographic techniques. The auction opens with a selection of 70 lots from Stephen Whites collection, A Country Called California, featuring photographs from the 1850s to the 1960s. Whites vast collection views the unique history of California through the lens of photography and imagines this history and its people as a dreamscape, a place that represents both the past and hopeful future. Highlights range from Dorothea Langes White Angel Breadline, San Francisco, 1934, printed before 1966 (est. $20,000 to $30,000), and Ansel Adamss images of Japanese-American internment during WWII, Benji Iguchi driving a tractor at the Manzanar Relocation Center, together with Benji Iguchi with squash, Manzanar Relocation Center, from 1943 (est. $2,000 to $3,000). Also featured are photographs of Yosemite by Carleton Watkins, Three Brothers, Yosemite, ca. 1872 (est. $8,000 to $12,000), as well as oil on Los Angeles beaches, images featuring the full spectrum of immigrant and contributors to the state, Hollywood and much more. Leading the sale is the rare Eudora Welty portfolio, dating from the 1930s to 40s, printed 1992, complete with 18 photographs each with Weltys signature and edition notation (est. $40,000 to $60,000). This portfolio has only rarely appeared on the market, and this example is additionally rare for its provenance, having been gifted by Eudora Welty to the pioneering journalist Robert MacNeil. It is accompanied by a letter signed from Welty. Other highlights include Larry Clarks Luhring Augustine portfolio Tulsa, 1968 to 1971 complete with 10 photographs (est. $15,000 to $25,000), Yousuf Karshs masterful portrait of Georgia OKeeffe, 1956, printed before 1969 (est. $4,000 to $6,000), Man Rays Exposition Man Ray from Cahiers dArt, Paris, 1935 (est. $5,000 to $7,500), and Brett Westons early modernist Market Place (La Merced Market, Mexico City), 1926 (est. $10,000 to $15,000). Bidding is available through online platforms, absentee, the phone, and live in-person. Live online bidding platforms will be the Swann Galleries website, Invaluable, and Live Auctioneers. The complete catalogue and bidding information is available at www.swanngalleries.com.