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[Apollo 12] PORTRAIT OF ALAN BEAN WITH THE PHOTOGRAPHER REFLECTED IN HIS VISOR NEAR SHARP CRATER Pete Conrad, 14–24 November 1969, EVA 2 image 1
[Apollo 12] PORTRAIT OF ALAN BEAN WITH THE PHOTOGRAPHER REFLECTED IN HIS VISOR NEAR SHARP CRATER Pete Conrad, 14–24 November 1969, EVA 2 image 2
[Apollo 12] PORTRAIT OF ALAN BEAN WITH THE PHOTOGRAPHER REFLECTED IN HIS VISOR NEAR SHARP CRATER Pete Conrad, 14–24 November 1969, EVA 2 image 3
[Apollo 12] PORTRAIT OF ALAN BEAN WITH THE PHOTOGRAPHER REFLECTED IN HIS VISOR NEAR SHARP CRATER Pete Conrad, 14–24 November 1969, EVA 2 image 4
Lot 309

[Apollo 12] PORTRAIT OF ALAN BEAN WITH THE PHOTOGRAPHER REFLECTED IN HIS VISOR NEAR SHARP CRATER
Pete Conrad, 14–24 November 1969, EVA 2

FOR ALL MANKIND: THE ARTISTIC LEGACY OF EARLY SPACE EXPLORATION: Victor Martin-Malburet Collection
14 – 28 April 2025, 12:00 CEST
Paris, Avenue Hoche

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[Apollo 12] PORTRAIT OF ALAN BEAN WITH THE PHOTOGRAPHER REFLECTED IN HIS VISOR NEAR SHARP CRATER

Pete Conrad, 14–24 November 1969, EVA 2

Printed 1969.

Vintage gelatin silver print on fibre-based paper [NASA image AS12-49-7278].
With NASA caption numbered "69-H-1988" on the reverse (issued by NASA Headquarters, Washington, D.C.).

20.3 x 25.4 cm. (8 x 10 in.)

Historical context
The First Lunar Self-Portrait.
Pete Conrad captured this sublime photograph of Alan Bean near Sharp Crater, in what has been described as the first self-portrait on the Moon
(CLICK HERE: Astronomy Picture of the Day)
The NASA caption does not identify the photographer or the subject of this masterpiece of lunar photography, but this is indeed Alan Bean, holding a container of lunar soil in his right hand, with his Hasselblad camera mounted on the control unit of his chest. Conrad is fully reflected in sharp detail in Bean's visor, making this a powerful and unintentional lunar self-portrait.
Reflecting on these iconic images, Pete Conrad later remarked:
"I've always thought those pictures... we took of each other on the Moon were all we were going to have left after it was over to remember what we did."
—Pete Conrad (Schick and Van Haaften, p. 40)

Footnotes

[Original NASA Caption]
MANNED SPACECRAFT CENTRE, HOUSTON, TEXAS
"An Apollo 12 astronaut is pictured with a container of lunar soil collected during the Apollo 12 extravehicular activity. The crewman wears a check-list on his left wrist to facilitate following a pre-planned pattern during the EVA. The astronaut who took the photograph is reflected in the face shield of his fellow crewman. Astronauts Charles Conrad Jr. and Alan L. Bean descended in the Apollo 12 Lunar Module to explore the lunar surface while Astronaut Richard F. Gordon Jr. remained with the Command and Service Modules in lunar orbit."

Literature
Full Moon, Light, pl. 69
The View from Space: American Astronaut Photography, 1962–1972, Schick and Van Haaften, p. 46
Spacecam: Photographing the Final Frontier from Apollo to Hubble, Hope, p. 21
Apollo: Through the Eyes of the Astronauts, Jacobs, p. 14

Watch more
CLICK HERE: NASA APOLLO 12 MISSION REPORT MOON PROGRAM PROJECT APOLLO 45254

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