Recently, an extremely old picture of what seemed to be random men has now officially been confirmed to be a picture of the notorious outlaw Billy the Kid. A Californian art collector by the name of Randy Guijarro first purchased the picture two years ago for just $2 dollars. Now that the picture has been authenticated by experts and historians, it is believed to be worth some $5 million dollars. This got us thinking about just how much some photographs are actually worth, so we wanted to see which ones are among the most expensive of all time. Here are the ten most expensive photographs that have ever been sold at auction.
10. Georgia O’Keeffe (Hands) by Alfred Stieglitz – $1,470,000
The first photograph on our list is a very interesting picture by American photographer and artist Alfred Stieglitz. Stieglitz was born in New Jersey back in 1864, and even at a young age, had an interest in art and academia. Eventually his family moved to Europe, where he began to develop a passion for photograph. Later in life, Alfred would become a prolific photographer who helped photography be accepted by the art community and the masses as a true art form. He would go on to marry another prominent artist, Georgia O’Keeffe, and often took pictures of her. One such picture, a close up of her hands, was taken back in 1919. It was eventually sold at a Sotheby’s auction in 2006 for the price of $1.47 million dollars.
Photo from inkbluesky.wordpress.com
9. Nude by Edward Weston – $1,609,000
Born in 1886, Edward Weston is an American photographer that is often described as one of the most influential photographers of the 20th century. He knew he wanted to be a photographer from a very young age, and by the time he was 20, he was taking pictures of everything. Some of his most notable work revolves around the naked human form. One photograph in particular, simply called Nude, depicts a nude woman lying down on her stomach. It’s very simplistic in nature, but don’t let it fool you. This piece was extremely desirable when it went up for auction in 2008, and it was eventually sold for over $1.6 million dollars.
Photo from Sotheby’s
8. Tobolsk Kremlin by Dimitry Medvedev – $1,750,000
Next up we have a very interesting picture, an aerial view of the Kremlin in Tobolsk, Russia. Typically the photographs on this list are from prominent artists, however this picture was taken by Dimitry Medvedev, the former President of Russia and the current Prime Minister. The photograph was put up for a charity auction in 2010, and it managed to sell for an incredible $1.75 million dollars.
Photo from Wikipedia
7. Billy The Kid Portrait by Unknown – $2,300,000
Speaking of Billy the Kid, another photograph of this infamous outlaw makes the list of the most expensive photographs ever sold at auction. Billy the Kid, born Henry McCarty in 1859, only lived to be just 21-years-old. However during his short life he allegedly killed 21 men and was involved with numerous crimes. He’s one of the most iconic Western outlaws ever, and there aren’t many photographs of him. A portrait of the man, taken by an unknown photographer, was uncovered awhile back and eventually headed towards auction. It was sold in 2001 at the Brian Lebel’s Old West Show and Auction to William Koch for $2.3 million dollars.
Photo from wikimedia.org
6. Untitled #153 by Cindy Sherman – $2,700,000
Cindy Sherman is an American photographer who was born in 1954, and is well recognized as a leading figure in conceptual portrait photography. Like all photographers, Cindy has taken pictures of a wide variety of things, including many self-portraits. One such picture, called Untitled #153, was auctioned off in 2010 for a cool $2.7 million dollars. For most artists, their work isn’t worth millions until long after they have passed away, but that’s not the case for Cindy.
Photo from Metro Pictures, New York & Cindy Sherman
5. The Pond-Moonlight by Edward Steichen – $2,928,000
Born in 1879, Edward Steichen was an Luxembourgish/American photographer and artist that often collaborated with Alfred Stieglitz back in the day. Because of this fact, he is also considered one of the fathers of modern photograph, and many consider him to be the first fashion photographer for some of his early work. During the 1920’s and the 1930’s, Edward rose to international levels of fame, and was one of the highest earning photographers in the world. One of his photographs from 1904, titled The Pond-Moonlight, depicts a small pond and forest at night, taken somewhere near Mamaroneck, New York. Only three originals of the photograph exist, and one example was sold at a Sotheby’s auction in 2006 to the tune of $2,928,000 dollars.
4. 99 Cent II Diptychon by Andreas Gursky – $3,346,456
99 Cent II Diptychon is a photograph by modern German photographer Andreas Gursky. Gursky can easily be considered one of the most famous and influential living photographers today, as you will soon see. The picture is a two-part piece that depicts the interior of a supermarket. Art is a strange thing, as some may be wondering what makes this picture so special. Regardless the piece was produced in 2001, and then sold in 2007 for the price of $3,346,456 dollars. At the time of it’s sale in 2007, it was the most expensive photograph of all-time.
Photo from Sotheby’s
3. Dead Troops Talk by Jeff Wall – $3,666,500
Jeff Wall is a famous modern photographer and artist from Vancouver who has taken a variety of influential and popular pictures over the years. He rose to prominence in the late 1970’s, when he started to producing back-lit photographs, for which he is best-known as an artist. In 1992 he recreated a scene from the Russian-Afghanistan war of the 1980’s. The picture depicts some members of the Red Army who were ambushed while out on a routine patrol. While the photograph uses actors wearing makeup and is actually not “real”, it was still extremely desirable. The picture sold at a Christie’s auction in New York back in 2012 for $3,666,500 dollars.
Photo from character-shop.com/Jeff Wall
2. Untitled #96 by Cindy Sherman – $3,890,500
Yet another self-portrait by Cindy Sherman makes the list of the most expensive photographs ever sold at auction. The piece is called Untitled #96 and depicts Cindy lying down on a tile floor. The photograph was take back in 1981 and was sold in 2011 via a Christie’s auction for $3,890,500 dollars. At the time of its sale, it was the most expensive photograph ever.
Photo from popphoto.com
1. Rhein II by Andreas Gursky – $4,338,500
Andreas Gursky makes another appearance on the list, this time taking the number one spot as his Rhein II photograph is currently the most expensive photograph that has ever been sold at auction. The piece is of the Rhein River in Germany and is extremely minimalistic in nature. At the time when the picture was taken, there was a small building and a few people walking their dogs, however they were later removed in the editing process. The final result is this very simple piece, yet despite that fact, it inexplicably just draws you in. Christie’s sold the photograph, which was one piece from a series of six, back in 2011 for $4,338,500 dollars.
Photo from c4gallery.com
