Pyramid Lake

Andrew M. Goldstein of ARTINFO:

When Steve Jobs unveiled the iPad in a breathless, globally-broadcast event yesterday afternoon, few people were as bowled over as the man who took the photo displayed on the sleek product’s desktop, veteran photographer Richard Misrach.

“I was in bed watching Inglorious Bastards when I got a call from Jeffrey Fraenkel, my dealer in San Francisco, and he said, ‘Do you know what’s going on live here?’” Misrach told ARTINFO. “I was totally shocked. Naturally my other galleries started calling and my family was all atwitter, because it’s a whole different world.”

Misrach, a sought-after San Francisco artist who has been shown in galleries around the world, says that Apple first contacted him some time ago and asked to see about 10 images from his different series, but rejected them. Then two weeks ago, on the night of the opening of his current show at Chelsea’s Pace/MacGill gallery, he received an email from the company saying it had reconsidered and wanted to license Pyramid Lake (at Night), a 2004 photo he took at a Native American reservation in Nevada. Terms were set for a five-year exclusive deal, with the company saying they would use the image for screen-savers and other features. There was no mention of the iPad. “The funny thing is that I don’t even have a contract with them yet, so they must have decided on it at the eleventh hour,” Misrach says. “I’m sure they’ll send me one quickly now. But I’m very happy, I’m sure it’s fine, and the terms are good.”