Lee Friedlander, 'Nude,' 1979. One of the nude portraits Mr. Friedlander took of Madonna. © Lee Friedlander. (Courtesy Fraenkel Gallery, San Francisco)

Lee Friedlander is now represented in New York by Pace/MacGill and Pace, it has just been announced. The American photographer known for his black and white urban social landscapes taken with a hand-held 35-mm camera as well as for his nudes, in particular his nude photographs of a young Madonna (see left) taken in 1978 for Playboy, will kick off his representation by Pace/MacGill and Pace with a two-venue exhibition this fall.

Mr. Friedlander was formerly represented by Janet Borden Gallery in New York. The photographer will continue to be represented in San Francisco by Fraenkel Gallery, a gallery the artist has been with for over 33 years.

For his exhibition, which opens simultaneously at their two 57th Street locations on October 25 and will run through December 22, Mr. Friedlander will present his newest series, "Mannequin," as well as his renowned nudes from the '70s. Will these include some of the Madonna photos? "Highly likely," said a gallerist at Pace. "But it's not confirmed." One of his Madonna nudes sold for $77,240 at Christie's Paris in November 2011, the second highest price paid at auction for one of his single photographs, according to Artnet.

“The Pace Gallery and Pace/MacGill are honored to represent one of the very great photographers in the medium’s history," said Peter MacGill, president of Pace/MacGill Gallery, in a statement. " For over 50 years, Lee has overturned the possibilities of what a photograph could be by inventing radical, intelligent and witty new ways of seeing traditional subjects.”

Chuck Close stood out among all the high fashion: he was wearing a jumpsuit plastered with bright green patterns and parachute-type pants that hugged his ankles. He said he’s been collecting African fabrics with his girlfriend.

“This is all I wear now,” he said to Gallerist. “No more black.” He inspected the outfit and added: “This is conservative.”

A waiter walked up and offered us some avocado concoction on a cracker.

“I want that,” Mr. Close said, “But you have to feed it to me.”

We scooped up the canapé and placed it in Mr. Close’s mouth like it was a communion wafer. It wasn’t Miami Beach, but it was all right.

By this time, a line of people had formed around Ms. Leibovitz, all looking for autographs. She greeted them with smiles, but still seemed a little reluctant about the attention.

“I was alone in the gallery earlier today,” she said. “And I really saw the work as a body of work. And my searching in it. God knows what. I’m still trying to figure out what I’m searching for.”

Portraiture is, of course, Ms. Leibovitz’s claim to fame. That’s what the show focuses on, though in a decidedly unexpected way. There are no people in these photographs, only objects and rooms: there is a row of books from Sigmund Freud’s library; Pete Seeger’s cluttered workroom in his house in upstate New York; Virginia Woolf’s writing studio in East Sussex. She lets possessions and things build the picture of her subjects, rather than the subjects themselves.

Near the entrance, Peter MacGill, president of the Pace/MacGill gallery--Pace's branch for photography--who helped bring the show to New York, was admiring a dramatic photograph of the top hat Abraham Lincoln wore the night he was assassinated.

“That’s maybe as good a portrait of Lincoln as we’ve ever seen,” Mr. MacGill said.

The party cleared out around 8 p.m. A number of people in the room had planes to catch.

[All photos by Alexander Porter/BFAnyc.com]