Lot # : 259 - THE ROBERT BARRETT (1943-2016) PHOTOGRAPHY ARCHIVE

<b>IMPORTANT NOTE TO BIDDERS:</b> The Deed of Gift from the Bob Barrett estate transferred physical and intellectual rights of all of Bob's work as a photographer to the University of Missouri Kansas City. It has been confirmed that the University will not give up the intellectual rights to the images being offered here nor pass intellectual rights along to a successful bidder. Typically when images from the University's collection are reproduced, they do not transfer rights and allow the reproduction for a one-time use only. In this case, as a gesture to the estate of Mr. Barrett, the University of Missouri Kansas City has stated they would be willing to let the prints be auctioned as planned but without transfer of rights. A photographic journey across America during the ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s as provided by photographer and writer Robert "Bob" Barrett of Kansas City, Missouri. This collection of mostly loose original black and white prints is comprised of thousands of remarkable images with themes ranging from political and cultural events and figures to counterculture events and figures to political demonstrations, burlesque shows and strippers, celebrities, architectural studies, advertising and commercial commissions, drama and theater, wildlife, notable locations, playful whimsical shots like a sign warning against bringing 'pot' into the United States or Bob Barrett smiling next to a food stand that announces "CRABS? Bob's Got 'Em!"; or Bob standing next to David Crosby and Joni Mitchell while Joan Bayez plays guitar and sings. And then there's Bob's companion and wife of 40 years Shifra Stein, the first woman to be hired by The Kansas City Star, interviewing icons of the period like Ray Charles, Kris Kristofferson, Milton Berle and many others. Shifra's position at the Star as reviewer of restaurants, concerts and other events around town put the pair in many interesting situations in the early 1970s. A best guess puts the number of photographs in this archive somewhere north of 10,000 separate prints. Some are duplicated, some bear Bob's stamp, some do not include credits. Without a doubt, Robert Barrett had his shutter finger on the pulse of Kansas City – and the country at large. He was a staff photographer at UMKC and a freelancer who contributed images and articles to dozens of magazines, newspapers and books. Bob's work documenting Art Deco architecture can be seen in “American Art Deco” by Alastair Duncan, 1986, NY, Harry N. Abrams, Inc, 4to. Inventorying all of the personalities and events covered in this archive has not been attempted. A few names and events covered and included in this massive history are Muhammad Ali, Jesse Jackson, Ray Charles (in concert and next to Bob and Shifra), Alice Cooper, Waylon Jennings, Country Joe McDonald (inscribed to Bob), Paul Newman, sitar master and friend of the Beatles Ravi Shankar, Bob Dylan, Elvis Presley, cartoonists Bill Mauldin & Bill Vaughan, producer George Benson, Alice Cooper in Kansas City ’78, Bob Hope, The Rolling Stones, Peter Frampton, Linda Ronstadt, tennis star Jimmy Connors, Kansas City Women’s Jazz Festival 1978, a very young George Brett dressed in Western wear leading a horse , Vincent Price, Bob and Slim Pickens selling Vacor Ratkiller, etc, etc, etc. Plus a series of images from the Big Sur Folk Festival (California, September 13-14, 1969) with David Crosby, Joni Mitchell, Joan Baez, etc. There is also a large group of oversize prints of the group of jazz musicians who gathered in Kansas City on September 30, 1977 to pay tribute to Count Basie. The group included Basie, Dave Brubeck, Buck Clayton, Max Roach, Ella Fitzgerald, Zoot Sims, Ossie Davis, Eddie “Lockjaw” Davis, Harry “Sweets” Edison, Joe Jones, and Eddie Baker, co-chair of the Parker Foundation. On the political and social side there are numerous examples including signed Ted Kennedy and signed George McGovern, activist Abbie Hoffman, anti-war activist Allen Ginsberg, psychologist and LSD-proponent Timothy Leary, Gerald Ford, Alan Wheat, Kit Bond, Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, plus stark images from Kansas City’s race riots of the late 1960s and National Guard Troops on the streets of the Country Club Plaza. The archive also includes 1970s-era Kansas City Royals, Kansas City Chiefs’ players and game pictures, plus images from the Chief’s 1970 Super bowl Victory Parade, motor sports, tennis and more. There are many images of local social and cultural interest, including images from the early years of the Foolkiller Theater, the Burlesque Girls of KC’s Folly Theater, other adult themes, as well as the first show at the Freedom Palace on May 8, 1970 - complete with images of the headliner, Canned Heat - and more. Wildlife photography was another of Barrett’s fortes and there are many color and black & white examples, some professionally mounted on cardstock and with glass. The archive also includes a small amount of negatives. The vast majority of Barrett's negatives are now the property of the UMKC archive and out of circulation. The number of photographs in this archive is again estimated at 10,000 or more prints. Bob Barrett's archive also includes copies of magazines and newspapers that included his work and articles as well as a mint copy of “American Art Deco” by Alastair Duncan, 1986, NY, Harry N. Abrams, Inc, 4to, hardcover and dust jacket. Inevitably there are duplicates of many images, as well as examples of Barrett’s work collected during various phases of publication, meaning mock-ups, contact sheets, and other aspects of graphic design. Interested parties should attend the inspection/preview open house on Wednesday, February 1 from 12 noon to 5pm in order to attempt to grasp the content and breadth of this lot in person. Alternate inspection times are available by appointment. Additional images can be provided on request.