Famous photos on auction

Top South African photographers will auction some of their best work next week to raise funds for fellow lensman John Liebenberg.

The photographer - who earned recognition for his harrowing images of the Namibian border war - needs surgery to replace a hip with which he has suffered for three years. About R170000 is needed for hip replacement surgery.

Among the photographers whose work will be on auction are Joao Silva, Roger Ballen, Pieter Hugo and the late Alf Kumalo and Anton Hammerl.

On offer will be 14 of the last 22 photographs Hammerl shot in Libya days before his death.

Some of Liebenberg's most well-known works will go under the hammer.

Along with war and conflict photographs, the auction features art photography, news pictures and nature scenes. They include portraits of Winnie Madikizela-Mandela (one taken in 1963 by Kumalo and another in 2003 by Sally Shorkend), Chief Albert Luthuli (taken by Ranjith Kally in 1964) and Abdullah Ibrahim (taken in 1982 by Peter Mackenzie) and Jurgen Schadeberg's 1994 photograph of Nelson Mandela revisiting his Robben Island prison cell.

Organiser of the auction Jonathon Rees said it was not difficult to get people involved because of Liebenberg's stature in the photographic community.

"Photographers recognise and admire [Liebenberg's] work. People were keen to help and they recognised this was an opportunity to showcase and profile South African photography.

"A lot of people gave us their best photos," Rees said.

Cedric Nunn, whose work will be on auction, said of Liebenberg: "He is one of the extraordinary Southern African photographers. He helped open my eyes about the conditions in Namibia during the struggle for change. He is an extraordinarily courageous person who worked under difficult conditions in horrific times."

Liebenberg said he was touched by the support shown to him by fellow photographers.

"If I had had the money [for the operation] I would never have known the goodwill that has been shown to me.

"It's absolutely fantastic that all these photographers have come to my rescue. It's a great sign that photographers can do things together, because we can be a moeilike [difficult] bunch."

The auction will take place at 6.30pm on March 18 at Stephan Welz & Co in Rosebank, Johannesburg. It will feature 95 images from 50 photographers.