5.
Alfred Stieglitz: “Georgia O’Keeffe – Nude” (1919)
$1,360,000 Sotheby’s New York, February 2006
$1,360,000 Sotheby’s New York, February 2006
Palladium print, image: 9 3/8 by 7 5/8 in. (24 by 19.2 cm.)
Suggested Reading: Stieglitz: Camera Work
it's actually not the best nude I have ever seen. But, that said. It's a nude, and look at that date stamp - 1919. Imagine how controversial this image would have been back then?
that's why it's amazing. and that's why it's worth so much. Not for it's 'controversial material', and definitely not for it's 'artistic quality' (such crap composition, and the photograph is technically flawed) but because it came about in the birth of photography - and it displays the artist's (not stieglitz specifically but THE artist as a figure) timeless obsession with the female form. it's worth so much because it is historically fascinating.
and because of that, it's beautiful.
4.
Unknown: “Billy the Kid” (Fort Sumner, New Mexico) (1879-80)
$2,300,000 Brian Lebel’s Old West Show & Auction, June 2011
$2,300,000 Brian Lebel’s Old West Show & Auction, June 2011
Tin-type, image: 2×3 inch (5.08×7.62 cm)
Only authenticated photograph of the historical figure.
Only authenticated photograph of the historical figure.
As the only authenticated image of Billy the Kid, this tin-type photo embodies the American West and one of its largest personalities.
answer right there. I want this photo, I also want 2. 3 million dollars. choices.
3.
Edward Steichen: “The Pond – Moonlight”, (1904)
$2,928,000 Sotheby’s New York, February 2006
$2,928,000 Sotheby’s New York, February 2006
this is one of my favourites. it's been my background on my computer for over 3 months.
some information.
Multiple gum bichromate print over platinum, image: 16 1/16 by 19 11/16 in. (41 by 50.8 cm.)
“One of only a hand-full left in existence, this image is beautiful example of the Pictorialist style of the late 1800s and early 20th century. Steinchen’s hand-layering technique embodied the painterly style.”
Suggested Reading: Edward Steichen: Lives in Photography
Stieglitz, Steichen, Strand: Masterworks from The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Stieglitz, Steichen, Strand: Masterworks from The Metropolitan Museum of Art
2.
Cindy Sherman: “Untitled #96″ (1981)
$3,890,500 Christie’s New York, May 2011
$3,890,500 Christie’s New York, May 2011
Chromogenic color print, image: 24 x 48 in. (61 x 121.9 cm)
Number seven from an edition of ten.
Number seven from an edition of ten.
Sherman was known to avoid titling her work, in order to allow the interpretation to come from the viewer’s own imagination. “Christie’s noted in the auction presentation: ‘Who is this girl?Is she scheming to find true love, or the brokenhearted victim of a failed love affair?’”
Suggested Reading: Cindy Sherman
1.
Andreas Gursky: “Rhein II” (1999)
$4,338,500 Christie’s New York, November 2011
$4,338,500 Christie’s New York, November 2011
Chromogenic color print face-mounted to Plexiglas, image: 73 x 143 in. (185.4 x 363.5 cm)
Number one from edition of six.
Number one from edition of six.
“Gursky removed some of the elements that were damaging to the composition, like people and buildings, claiming that ‘a fictitious construction was required to provide an accurate image of a modern river.’ “
Suggested Reading: Andreas Gursky: Photographs from 1984 to the Present
THAT'S IT FOLKS.
STAY FROSTY
