Annie  Leibovitz, John Lennon and Yoko Ono, the Dakota, N.Y. December 8, 1980, 1980

Dye bleach print. 34.2 x 33.9 in. Estimate: from $25,000 to $35,000

Notes: This is the last portrait ever taken of John Lennon. On December 8, 1981. A few hours after posing for this photograph with his wife, contemporary artist Yoko Ono, Lennon stepped outside his residence in The Dakota in New York where he was fatally shot four times in the back by stalker Mark David Chapman.

In January 1981, the image appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine. Leibovitz had tried recreating a scene similar to that of the cover of Double Fantasy, Lennon and Ono’s 1980 comeback album. Years after taking the photograph, Leibovitz recounted that when Lennon saw the first test Polaroid of the shoot, he said “You’ve captured our relationship exactly.” (Rolling Stone, January 22, 1981).

Annie Leibovitz has built a specialty around the creation of portraits that are both revealing and intimate. This is considered one of her most important and desirable works. This artist’s proof is handsomely framed in a painted-black, wooden frame.

Annie Leibovitz, Richard Gere, 2003.

Chromogenic print, image: 13.5 x 21.5 inches, 34.29 x 54.61 cm; frame: 19 x 27 inches, 48.26 x 68.58 cm. Signed. Estimate: from $2,500 to $3,500

Annie Leibovitz, Jamie Lee Curtis, 2003.

Chromogenic print, image: 12 x 16 inches, 30.48 x 40.64 cm; frame: 19.25 x 22.75 inches, 48.9 x 57.8 cm. Signed. Estimate: from $2,500 to $3,500

Annie Leibovitz, Steven Spielberg, 2003.

Chromogenic print, image: 12 x 18 inches, 30.48 x 45.72 cm; frame: 19 x 25 inches, 48.26 x 63.5 cm. Signed. Estimate: from $2,500 to $3,500

Annie Leibovitz, Pamela Anderson, 2004.

Chromogenic print, image: 11.5 x 9.5 inches, 29.21 x 24.13 cm; frame: 19.25 x 16.5 inches, 48.89 x 41.91 cm. Signed. Estimate: from $2,500 to $3,500

Notes: From a rare set of vintage portraits taken by Annie Leibovitz for a commission by the A&E Televion Networks to promote Biography®. It is thought that only two sets of signed prints were made at the time.

Annie Leibovitz is perhaps the most famous living portrait photographer. Her portraits have been appearing in magazines for over 25 years. She started as a photographer for Rolling Stone magazine and works for Vanity Fair and Vogue. Her shots of celebrities, including musicians, politicians and athletes, have been celebrated worldwide. Leibovitz strives to incorporate the public persona of her subject or sitter into each of her photos. Rather than static headshots, Leibovitz often uses her subject's entire body, most often while in motion, to dispel any artificial qualities. Leibovitz has photographed for magazines as well as prestigious advertisers, such as Gap and American Express. She is one of only two living photographers to have had an exhibit at the National Portrait Gallery, Washington, D.C. (1991).

'Annie Leibovitz: A Photographer's Life, 1990–2005', an exhibition of more than 200 photographs, debuted at the Brooklyn Museum, NY, late in 2006, and is now on an international tour. The exhibition, sponsored by American Express, is organized by the Brooklyn Museum. Among the other venues it will travel to are the San Diego Museum of Art, the High Museum of Art, the Corcoran Gallery, the de Young Museum, Maison Européenne de la Photographie in Paris, and London's National Portrait Gallery, with additional venues to be announced.

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