I bought Mary Ellen Mark’s darkroom sink under one condition—she had to sign it. A Sharpie wouldn’t do: she used a nail.
The great photographer, Mary Ellen Mark, died yesterday. She was an inspiration to my generation and we all worshiped her.
I crossed paths with her a few of times. Once, when I was covering the Republican National Convention in 1980 I saw her across the room at some media event and approached her and jokingly said, “Annie Leibowitz, I love your stuff!” I got a laugh out of her and I was very proud of myself. (Mary Ellen Mark and Annie Leibowitz were the two most famous women photographers at the time; I have to assume they were competitive.)
Then, years later, we both worked on the A Day in the Life of…series of books. We were all working on A Day in the Life of Italy in Rome and in a bar room discussion it came up that she had darkroom equipment for sale; I told her I would take it sight unseen. It was a sink and some developing tanks. She lived in New York and I live in Philadelphia so I made arrangements to drive a truck to New York and pick this stuff up.
The sale was contingent on one condition—she had to sign the sink. When I got there she was going to sign it with a Sharpie. I insisted that she use a nail and so she scratched her name on my sink.
Mary Ellen Mark in 1967 / Ralph Gibson
I used it for years until digital photography came along. Then I had no use for it; I had no use for any darkroom equipment as a matter of fact. My good friend and neighbor wanted to set up a darkroom so I told him he could have the whole works if he came and got it. He rented a truck to move it and now it sits in his garage unused. He still insists that he’s going to build a darkroom. Trust me, he is NOT going to build darkroom.
I’d completely forgotten about all of this until he sent me a link for her obituary last night and reminded me that he now owns her sink.
Honestly, Mary Ellen Mark’s sink could not possibly have a better home. My neighbor, Eric, loves photography and loves photo history and Eric’s garage is right were Mary Ellen Mark’s sink belongs. (Between the sink and the tanks, I have to assume that some of her classic photographs were developed using this equipment.)
Eric, by the way, is my neighbor that recently had a brain aneurysm. I drove him to the hospital and it’s a miracle that he’s prancing up and down the alley doing a victory dance and bragging about the fact that he now owns Mary Ellen Mark’s sink. It feels right and the way it should be.
I did, however, catch my wife on eBay this morning trying to nail down the value of darkroom equipment that belonged to famous photographers. She’s still looking as I write this.
This picture is, of course, in black and white. I must admit that I was quite intimidated as I edited it; on the verge of a little too contrasty, but still holding the details.
Curious: what was size of the sink? Did she stop doing her own darkroom work in 81′ (i assume She had to given how prolific she was). Thks,…Ric Savid