Consider these images as “portraits”, also inspired by the sculptural works of people like Rodin and, again, Brancusi. In this way, the photography of Stieglitz, part of a larger image, but also an independent and individual storyteller, fragmented. A man named Randy Guijarro paid $ 2 in 2010 I Met Jesus for the 4×5-inch dye, from a cardboard box at an antique shop in California. He does not know that the statue would sell millions of times than just a year later. The image represents only the second authenticated photo of Billy the Kid, in a forensic trial that took five full years.
Although cameras are ubiquitous, few possess the vision, skill and creativity needed to qualify for the ranks of art photography. For this reason, a select number of photographers dominate the top of this industry and their work is sold for millions of dollars. This article reveals the most expensive photos sold at auction in the past decade, exploring what sets them apart from the rest and why they attract such large investments.
The image above, “Rin II”, set the world record for selling a photo when it was auctioned at Christie’s in New York in November 2011. My goal as a nature photographer is to show you a view of our natural world in a way that you may not have seen before through careful composition, attention to detail and the creative use of beautiful light. The complete collection of my work is available in the form of artistic prints with only the highest quality printing and assembly processes available today. My name is Aaron Reed and I want to thank you for your interest in my work.
It must therefore be said that, apart from the visual composition, Rhein II was at the top of the list, also because its maker is “expensive” at auctions, and because the print in question is quite rare. The value and ultimate selling price of artistic photo prints are generally not determined by the artist himself, but by the people who buy the photos. Most of these types of prints are sold at auction, as is the case with 9 out of 10 photos on this list. Nude, taken in California in 1925, is an example of Weston’s classic minimalist style and is believed to exhibit her model and lover Miriam Lerner. Australian photographer Peter Lik achieved a place in art history when Phantom sold for a record $ 6,500,000 in late 2014, but is not the first photographer to sell millions.
As with Steichen’s photo above, Gursky’s photography caught a lot of attention by creating a new album as the most expensive photo ever sold. As a result, it was reprinted twice, with one print sold for $ 2.25 million in May 2006 in New York and another print sold for $ 2.48 million in November 2006, again at Sotheby’s. All three impressions of this were on the prestigious list of the 10 most expensive photos ever sold. Photography as an art form matured in the 20th century and has been used to capture some of the most iconic and indelible images in the world. It is also potentially one of the most lucrative creative outlets out there, as evidenced by the twelve most expensive photos ever sold. The photo, called Dead Troops Talk and taken by photographer Jeff Wall in 1992, is unique and highly commented while staged.
It was determined that the photo was taken in 1878, just a month after the brutal Lincoln County War, in which Billy the Kid participated. Looks like we all have to shake our old photos, maybe there are just millions. Because many things about sales were not quite right, such as the highest I’ve ever had at auctions (I think much less than a million, let alone six)!
Two prints of previously sold work for $ 2.25 million and $ 2.48 million in 2006. His 1999 Rhein II made $ 4,338,500 at Christie’s, further shooting Gursky among the stars of art. What is also interesting is that with this sale he did nothing but break his own record: his 99 Cent II Diptychon print also ruled the list of the most expensive photos in history, until the great Cindy Sherman toppled them. Rhein II’s success surprised many at the time, as it was thought to be one of Andreas Gursky’s “most boring works”. Yes, there is a bit of history behind this impression, but I will tell you that it is nothing spectacular.
While most photos are sold for what people consider reasonable amounts, some are inflated to numbers that most photographers can only see in their dreams.