Alberto Korda (Cuban, 1928-2001). "Guerrillero Heroico" gelatin silver print, 1960. Edition 15 of 20. Hand signed and numbered "15/20" at lower right. Title "Guerrillero Heroico" and date "5/3/1960" handwritten at lower left. One of only twenty "Guerrillero Heroico" gelative silver prints of this large size created by Alberto Korda from his original negative as well as hand signed, dated, titled, and numbered below the image. Alberto Korda (also known as Alberto Diaz Gutierrez or simply Korda) was a Cuban photographer best known for this iconic image of the Argentinian Marxist revolutionary Che Guevara. Korda once said of this image, "There's something about his eyes in the photo. A kind of mystery. His personality comes through." While working on assignment for the newspaper "Revolucion" in 1960, Korda shot this famous photograph of Che Guevara at a protest rally after counterrevolutionaries blew up a Belgian freighter that was carrying arms to Cuba. An iconic photograph - one of only 20 made from the original negative in this generous size - demonstrating Alberto Korda's aesthetic prowess and boldness. Exceptionally rare, and given that it is editioned, even rarer! Size (image): 21.75" L x 17.375" W (55.2 cm x 44.1 cm) Size (frame): 25" L x 21" W (63.5 cm x 53.3 cm)

About the artist: "Alberto Diaz Gutierrez Korda (Cuban, September 19, 1928?May 25, 2001) is considered to be the man who made Ernesto 'Che' Guevara an icon. His image of Che became one of the most famous pictures of the 20th century. Born in Havana as the son of a railway worker, the young Korda had a variety of jobs before he started working as a photographer's assistant. It was while on an assignment for Revolucion newspaper in 1960 that Korda took the famous photo of Guevara at a protest rally, after a Belgian freighter, carrying arms to Cuba, was blown up by counterrevolutionaries while being unloaded in Havana harbor, killing more than 100 dock workers. As he later recalled, Korda was panning his lens across the figures on the dais when Guevara's face jumped into the viewfinder. The look in Guevara's eyes startled Korda so much that he instinctively captured it. Korda spent 10 years as Fidel Castro's official photographer. During this time, he used his skills to humanize the revolutionary leader's image in off-duty scenes, shared moments with Ernest Hemingway and Jean-Paul Sartre, and confronted a caged tiger at the New York Zoo." (Artnet)

Alberto Korda's works are in the permanent collections of the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes in Havana, and the Museo Reina Sofia in Madrid, among other elite art institutions.

An inscription on the verso of the framing reads, "2d twice by Korda - on the reverse he writes that this is one of 20 prints he made from the original negative in this large (24 x 20) size - 1998".

Alberto Korda's "Guerrillero Heroico" - from the same limited edition of 20 and of the same large size - hammered for $13,000 - Phillips de Pury & Company New York, 22 May 2012 - lot 44; $9000 - Christie's NY, 31 March 2015 - lot 292; and $11,339 - Christie's London, 17 May 2011 - lot 28.

Provenance: Private Los Angeles, California, USA collection

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#177693

Hand signed and numbered "15/20" at lower right. Title "Guerrillero Heroico" and date "5/3/1960" handwritten at lower left. Mounted under glass in a black frame. Has not been examined outside the frame but appears to be very strong save crease marks in the margins and slight age wear. Inscription on the verso reads, "2d twice by Korda - on the reverse he writes that this is one of 20 prints he made from the original negative in this large (24 x 20) size - 1998". Fit with suspension wire.