Lot 155: M.F. AGHA (1896-1978)

Untitled (Pig's head) Gelatin silver print. 1930s. Credit in an unknown hand in pencil on the verso. 93/4 x 7 5/8in. (24.8 x 19.4cm.) NOTES Educated in Kiev and Paris, M.F. (Mehemed Fehmy) Agha came to the United States in 1929 after working for Vogue in Berlin. At Cond‚ Nast in New York, he was quickly recognized for his work as art director for American Vogue and was soon also appointed art director for Vanity Fair and House and Garden. He remained at Cond‚ Nast until 1943 and from 1953-1955 served as President of the AIGA. In 1957 he was awarded the AIGA gold medal. Dr. Agha was celebrated for his pioneering vision in magazine design, which stressed the use of photography on a larger scale, placing its importance ahead of traditional illustration. He promoted the use of photography by many of the day's leading practitioners including Edward Steichen, Cecil Beaton, Edward Weston and Paul Outerbridge, Jr. Like his counterpart Alexy Brodovitch at Harper's Bazaar, Agha expanded the boundaries of conventional magazine design, illustrating photographs as full-bleeds and using sans serif typefaces. In the early 1930s Agha was also a contributing editor to the newly created U.S. Camera Annual. See lot 170 for another work by M.F. Agha.