I have clearly dropped the ball, pun completely intended, with these posts. To remind people, I am Dawn, the trustee/manager of Robert’s art and photography, the work Robert left at his death in 1995. Almost two years ago, we consolidated the  materials from various spaces around the country. I am still going through it all.

Sadly, we don’t have a complete “collection” of Robert’s entire opus by a long shot. I am not infrequently sent images of his drawings or photographs that I have never seen before. The man was an art machine.

And the negatives. Golly. According to his Wikipedia site, there are 90,000 of them. Slowly, I work through the (literal) thousands of NFL B&W negatives to organize them for auction in the next few years  Again - not a complete collection of his NFL B&Ws. I have yet to find the original negatives for his most iconic football images. The Golden Arm for example. 

That said, there is a lot of good news. I have reviewed (and identified) thousands of previously unpublished gorgeous B&W NFL photographic negatives, as well as negatives of lesser known images. The end of next month, we will have the resources to buy a professional quality scanner, and the software to run it, to start digitizing the whole shebang. And we’re off. 

I have had the pleasure of connecting with the sports collectors community this last year, chiefly through our Instagram. @robertrigerclassicsport. I attended the Nationals last summer. And was completely overwhelmed. (See you in Chicago? Although we couldn’t afford a booth this year.)(Is there still time for Cleveland?)

And I learn a lot about what collectors look for. Type 1 prints. Negative sales. People have been incredibly generous with their knowledge, and I have made friends. 

So a kick-off to more regular Robert Riger blogs. (Sorry I can’t seem to avoid the sports metaphors. It kind of gets in your brain.)

This entry is just a start. I’m hoping to post often with news. I would love to hear from you. I welcome any questions about our collection or Robert’s work. I may or may not immediately know the answer, but I will find out. 

And of course, I will keep everyone updated on upcoming sales, auctions, and donations. Perhaps we can find something for you that you might like for yourself. 

Be well! Below, what a real, live, very active photography archive looks like.

Dawn