Cindy Sherman is Destroying and Reprinting Her Damaged Photographs

Photographer Cindy Sherman has launched an initiative that allows her damaged prints to be destroyed and replaced with new, artist-approved versions to preserve her iconic images for future generations.

According to a report by The Art Newspaper, the photographer, known for her self-portraits launched the Cindy Sherman Legacy Project (CSLP) today (June 16). The initiative is designed to preserve both the physical condition and conceptual integrity of Sherman’s photographs by offering controlled replacements for damaged prints.

Since some of Sherman’s older prints can fade or get damaged over time, the project enables private collectors and museums to replace ruined prints with brand-new ones that the photographer personally approves.

This initiative, which is reportedly the first of its kind in photography, allows Sherman to oversee reprints using the latest archival methods, ensuring her work remains true to her original vision while setting a new standard for photographic conservation.

In a statement to The Art Newspaper, Sherman describes the CSLP as “a mechanism that will ensure the integrity of my work is protected in perpetuity” and says that the project will provide “a template for other artists working in the photographic medium.”

According to the news outlet, the CSLP addresses the art world’s growing concerns about how to preserve aging photographic works. Sherman’s early gelatin silver prints from the 1970s and chromogenic prints from the 80s are especially prone to fading and damage. Under the CSLP, collectors can submit her works for review at a New York facility. If accepted, the original print is destroyed and replaced with a brand-new, artist-signed reprint approved by Sherman. The service carries a one-off administrative fee of $10,000, plus production and shipping.

While private collectors must pay the submission fee, non-profit institutions and museums are only charged for production and shipping to ensure the widest possible public access to the work in the condition that Sherman intended.

“This gives collectors and museums the tools to care for Sherman’s work at a level equal to her artistic significance. It’s a thoughtful intervention in the evolving relationship between photography and conservation,” Jeff Rosenheim, the curator in charge of the Department of Photographs at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (MOMA) says.

“This initiative has the potential to make a considerable contribution to the field, in particular by providing a long-term sustainable model for other artists working in the photographic medium who are eager to embrace the latest, most archival technology available at a given time. And who better to trail-blaze this approach than Cindy Sherman, one of the world’s most celebrated contemporary artists?”

In addition to the reprinting service, the CSLP will create and manage the Cindy Sherman Catalogue Raisonné, the artist’s first official digital archive. The free platform will launch in stages and feature high-resolution images, edition details, ownership records, provenance, and analysis for scholars, curators, and collectors.

Sherman is an American photographer best known for her conceptual self-portraits that explore identity, gender, and representation. Her work has become highly influential in contemporary art, with her 1981 photograph Untitled #96 selling for $3.89 million in 2011, making it the most expensive photograph ever sold at the time.