On April 1, Sotheby’s New York will sell a complete set of The Brown Sisters by Nicholas Nixon, an artist known for producing intimate, black and white documentary photography.The Brown Sisters is one of the best continuing photographic series of the 20th and 21st centuries. Nixon shot the first portrait of his wife Bebe, who was 25 at the time, and her sisters Heather (23), Laurie (21), and Mimi (15) in 1975. Since it’s making, Nixon has recreated the portrait every year using an 8 x 10-inch view camera, which has resulted in a set of 40 photographs.The set on offer comes from the collection of Mary Robison, a San Francisco resident who collected art and photographs with her late husband, David. Mrs. Robinson is one of the West Coast’s most important art collectors, and in 1995, the couple donated a collection of 150 early photographs to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.Complete sets of The Brown Sisters are very rare, and have only appeared at auction twice before. One set sold at Sotheby’s New York in October 2005 for $192,000 (est. $80,000-120,000), and the other sold at Phillips de Pury & Company New York that same month for $180,000 (est. $150-200,000). In April, the 40 photographs will be sold at Sotheby’s as a single lot with an estimate of $200,000 to $300,0000.—Liza M. E. Muhlfeld
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