The 5 Most Expensive Photographs ever sold

Continuing my research to find the most expensive stuff in the world, I thought it would be quite interesting to post the most expensive photographs ever sold. While there are many people who continue to doubt about the real value of these photos, the prices don’t stop rising. It has become a business success for photographers who still making real fortunes with its shots. The photography has entered in the art world and is gaining ground in galleries everyday. Here is the list of the top 5 most expensive photographs ever sold.

In the first place of this list is Andreas Gursky's "99 Cent II Diptychon", 2001. It was sold for $3.34 million in Sotheby's auction in London, February 2007. Is currently considered the world's most expensive photograph. Although not all agree with my opinion, Gurskys 99c's is a terrific piece of photography, it is full of lines, patterns and color that are all very attractive to the eye.

2. Edward Steichen’s “The Pond-Moonlight”, 1904

It was sold for $2,928,000 at Sotheby’s in New York, February, 2006. This beautiful picture shows a moonlight between trees and reflecting on a pond, and appears to be in colorful. Steichen used layers of light-sensitive gum to create an impression of color.

3. Richard Prince: " Untitled (cowboy)", 1989

It was sold for $1,248,000 at Christie's in New York, November 2005. This picture has gained the status of the most famous work by one of the masters of the contemporary photography.

4. Joseph Philibert Girault de Prangey: " 113 Athènes, Temple de Júpiter ", 1842

It was sold for $922,488 at Christie's in London , May 20th 2003. Girault de Prangey was a French draughtsman and photographer whose works are extremely valuable as they are the earliest surviving visual documents of archaeological places such as Syria or the Acropolis. Shot in 1842, the daguerreotype is believed to be the oldest image of the temple still existing.

5. Gustave Le Gray’s “The Great Wave, Sete”

It was sold for $838,000 at Sotheby's in London, October 1999. Le Gray was possibly the most important French photographer of the 19th Century. This picture marked the first time that a photographer had managed to expose landscape and sky correctly in the same image. Le Gray did this by creating one negative for the sky and one for the sea, and printing them together on the same sheet of paper. In effect, he created a collage. It’s an easy technique in now-a-days but doing it without a digital camera or Photoshop, it's quite amazing. This is why photography is an art !!!

This is what the art of photography is about, an expression of feelings, tastes, thoughts, moods, etc........what is more important in this whole story, is the money spent by some people to get the photos. This is the real prove that the photographs are still worth much money.

AC