PETER JARVER (1953–2003) — BLACK LIGHTNING

PETER JARVER (1953–2003) — BLACK LIGHTNING
No. 48/50 — Originally Signed by Peter Jarver
From the Only Known Collection of Ten Originally Signed Peter Jarver Skyscapes
The Photograph That Started Jarver's Lightning Photography
No. 48 of Only 50
SOLD OUT
Originally Signed by Peter Jarver
The Only Known Collection of Ten Originally Signed Jarver Skyscapes
The only known collection of ten Peter Jarver skyscapes bearing Peter Jarver's original lifetime signature.
Photograph Details
Title: Black Lightning
Date: November 1978
Location: Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia
Edition: No. 48 of 50
Artist's Proofs: 5
Edition Status: SOLD OUT
Signature: Original lifetime signature of Peter Jarver
Image Size: 50 × 70 cm, plus frame
Presentation: Professionally framed to gallery specification
Original Photographic Specifications
Lens: Canon 28mm
Film: Kodachrome 25
Exposure: 15 seconds
FREE WORLDWIDE FREIGHT
FREE HANGING — PERTH METRO

Ember Antiques Art & Clocks is proud to offer an exceptional lifetime-signed example of Black Lightning, one of the defining skyscape photographs by renowned Australian landscape photographer Peter Jarver (1953–2003).

Photographed in Darwin, Northern Territory, in November 1978, Black Lightning occupies a particularly important place in Jarver's career: it was the first lightning photograph he ever took.

The official Peter Jarver Fine Art Photography catalogue confirms the title, date, Darwin location, photographic specifications and limited edition of only 50 prints, and records the edition as SOLD OUT.

The story behind Black Lightning is as remarkable as the photograph itself.

Jarver was having dinner with friends in Darwin when a powerful tropical electrical storm developed. Inspired by the extraordinary display, he placed his camera on the roof of his car, opened the shutter and captured the spectacular branching lightning above the silhouetted landscape.

Jarver subsequently described Black Lightning as his first lightning photograph.

The resulting image—with a solitary tree silhouetted beneath an immense network of electrical branches—became an extraordinary early example of the dramatic Australian skyscapes for which Jarver would become renowned.

This particular photograph is No. 48/50, placing it extremely close to the conclusion of the original numbered edition.

Today, Black Lightning is recorded by the official Peter Jarver Gallery as:

No. 48 therefore represents an opportunity to acquire an example from an exhausted and tightly restricted Jarver edition.

What distinguishes this example further is the signature.

This photograph bears Peter Jarver's original lifetime signature—personally signed before his death in 2003.

This is materially different from later posthumous examples carrying reproduced/digital signatures.

This photograph forms part of a remarkable group held by Ember Antiques Art & Clocks:

The collection brings together ten of Jarver's dramatic Australian skyscapes, each carrying an original signature from the photographer's lifetime.

Even the Peter Jarver Gallery does not hold this collection of ten originally signed examples.

For collectors of Australian photography, the significance therefore extends beyond the individual photograph: Black Lightning No. 48/50 forms part of an exceptional surviving group of lifetime-signed Jarver skyscapes.

Photographer: Peter Jarver (1953–2003)

Camera: Canon T70*

*Technical specifications reproduced as recorded by the official Peter Jarver Fine Art Photography catalogue.

Securely packed and shipped free of charge worldwide.

For purchasers within the Perth metropolitan area, professional hanging of the artwork is included free of charge.