Top 10 Most Expensive Photographs Ever Sold

Today, we come with a list of the highest prices paid photographs. For the common people, an image from camera shots may only be worth no more than an image alone, but for the people who know what the true meaning of photography, the price of a photograph can even reach the millions of dollars. Many aspects can make a photo that expensive, such as its history, the object, exclusive value, and much more. So no wonder if some of the pictures could reach millions of dollars.

Take a look at the 10 most expensive photographs in the world. It’s interesting to see how much money people are willing to pay for art.

10. Tobolsk Kremlin (2009) – $1,750,000

Kremlin of Tobolsk is photographed by the president of Russia himself. A black-and-white print of the Tobolsk Kremlin photo sold for $1.7 million at a charity auction in January 2010.

9. Billy the Kid (1880) Tintype Portrait – $2,300,000

This here is Billy The Kid. And this photo of Billy sold at auction for $2.3 million on June 2011, from Brian Lebel’s Old West Show and Auction. 130 years ago, legendary outlaw Billy the Kid had his “picture made” in Fort Sumner, New Mexico, posing for what is now considered the most recognizable photo of the American West. A single, original tintype is the only authenticated photo of the Kid in existence today.

8. Untitled #153 (1985) – $2,700,000

“Untitled #153,” a 1985 photo by Cindy Sherman, sold for $2.7 million on November 2010, at Phillips de Pury & Co. in New York, an auction record for the artist.

7. The Pond-Moonlight (1904) – $2,928,000

The Pond—Moonlight is a pictorialist photograph by Edward Steichen. The photograph was made in 1904 in Mamaroneck, New York. The photograph features a forest across a pond, with part of the moon appearing over the horizon in a gap in the trees. It was sold for more than US$2.9 million at Sotheby’s New York in February 2006.

6. Los Angeles, by Andreas Gursky (1998) – $2.9 million

Los Angeles, a photograph by Andreas Gursky. The third-highest price a Gursky work has achieved at auction was the $2.9 million for his large panorama of the lights of Los Angeles. It was sold toward the end of the economic boom, at a February contemporary evening sale at Sotheby’s London.

5. 99 Cent II Diptychon (2001) – $3,346,456

The artwork 99 Cent II Diptychon from 2001 is a two-part photograph made by Andreas Gursky probably in 1999, as the work is sometimes called “99 cent.1999”. A second print of 99 Cent II Diptychon sold for $2.48 million in November 2006 at a New York gallery, and a third print sold for $2.25 million at Sotheby’s in May 2006.

4. Dead Troops Talk (1992) – $3,666,500

A vision after an ambush of a Red Army patrol, near Moqor, Afghanistan, winter 1986. The staged image, called Dead Troops Talk, depicts bloodied and dismembered soldiers from Russia’s Red Army conversing on the side of a rocky hill. It sold for $3,666,500 at Christie’s in May 2012.

3. For Her Majesty (1973) – $3,765,276

For Her Majesty, a photograph by Gilbert & George (1973). It was sold for $3.7 million.

2. Untitled #96 (1981) – $3,890,500

A seventh print of Untitled #96, a photograph by Cindy Sherman, sold for $2.88 million at Christie’s in May 2012.

1. Rhein II (1999) – $4,338,500

It’s called “Rhein II” and was photographed by Andreas Gursky, and it sold for $4.3 million at Christie’s, making it the most expensive photograph ever sold.