Two prints by W Eugene Smith are to headline a sale of photographs from the Art Institute of Chicago at Phillips with an estimate of $7,000-9,000.

The online sale runs until December 22.

W Eugene Smith is best known for his reportage photography

Smith (1918-1978) is best known for his reportage, having captured some of the most memorable images of the second world war.

His unflinching depictions of the conflict were published in Life magazine and Newsweek.

He went on to highlight the actions of the Chisso company in Japan, whose lax environmental standards led to the poisoning of the water supply near the town of Minimata and the deaths of hundreds of people during the 1970s.

For this, Chisso employees physically attacked him - permanently damaging his eyesight.

Bill Brandt's Maiden Castle, Dorset (1945) is likely to prove another highlight, with a valuation of $6,000-8,000.

The photograph is from a series titled Thomas Hardy's Wessex, which consists of eight images of landmarks around Dorset, UK.

Brandt was a pioneering photographer whose work has proven massively influential on subsequent generations of artists.

His auction record stands at $265,000, set for a work titled Van Gogh's Room in the Asylum of St Paul de Mausole (St Remy) at Sotheby's New York in 2005.   

Check out our exciting range of art and photography memorabilia here.

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