But the notion that “Girls” might well belong in a discussion about the most valuable photographs in history raises a question: How did an otherwise obscure commercial photographer, who spent much of his career photographing celebrities and politicians for magazines like Parade and Life, crash a party filled with some of the most famous artists in the world?
The answer starts with the image, of course, which is a brassy, joyful combination of glamour and urban grit with a dash of “Mad Men”-era nostalgia.
The building embodies a glorious slab of vanishing New York City, and those women look like they’re ready to break into song.
Starting around 2010, and before his death in 2019, Gigli produced, printed and signed hundreds of copies of the photograph, in a variety of sizes and on a variety of photographic papers.
He did so at the behest of his son, Ogden, 63, a photographer who now runs his father’s estate and who masterminded the unique sales strategy that turned the image into a phenomenon.
Persons:
we’ve, ”, Etheleen Staley, Staley, Wise, Gigli, Ogden, “
Organizations:
Windows Inc
Locations:
York City, SoHo, Pittsfield , Mass