10 most expensive photograph in the world Bashny.Net

Sometimes photographers amaze us with their art, the ability to uniquely reflect the world around us and get a look at it from a different angle. And sometimes doing something totally disgusting or normal so that we can not understand why the work is recognized as a masterpiece. Anyway, these photos were sold for millions of dollars.

1. Rhine II (1999)


Author - Andreas Gursky
Price - $ 4,338,500

Andreas Gursky - the famous German photographer, to his credit a lot of photos, subsequently sold for a fabulous price. In 1999, he took a photo of "Rhine II», which depicts the Rhine river between two dams under the majestic cloudy sky. Total Gursky has created six images of the Rhine, and the "Rhine II» - the largest photograph in the series.

The most amazing thing in photography is that it was made using "Photoshop": initially background "port" power plant, port facilities and a passerby walking their dogs - all this Gursky removed, leaving only the Rhine and the dam itself.

Gursky commented on his actions thus: "Paradoxically, this view of the Rhine could not be obtained on the spot, revision was needed to provide an accurate image of the modern river».

Revised photographer printed photo size 185, 4 × 363, 5 cm, mounted it on the acrylic glass and placed in a frame. The picture was sold at auction «Christie's» in New York for $ 4,338,500 in 2011, the year - the buyer was the gallery Monica Shpryut in Cologne, and later resold photo unknown collector.

2. Untitled # 96 (1981)


Author - Cindy Sherman
Price - $ 3,890,500

American photo artist Cindy Sherman works in the technique of production photos. Her work is widely known among the people in the arts, and it is ranked seventh in the list of "the hundred most influential people in the art world-2011" according to the «ArtReview». Sherman herself calls himself an artist, performance artist, and categorically rejects the photographer himself.

One of the most famous and expensive it works - Photo # 96, made in 1981: the picture shows a girl, freckled, with red hair and a bright orange dress, lying on his back and gazing into the distance. According to Sherman, picture carries deep meaning - a teenage girl, both seductive and innocent, holding a piece of newspaper advertisement Me, which means that while not strong female essence looking for a way to break out.

The picture was bought at auction «Christie's» in 2011 by an unknown collector.

3. Her Majesty, collage of photos (1973)


Authors - Gilbert and George Passmore Prosh
Price - $ 3,765,276

British artists Gilbert and George Passmore Prosh work in the genre of performance photography. World fame brought them work, where they served as living sculptures.

Their collage of photos taken back in 1973, was sold for big money at auction in 2008: on the black-and-white photographs show men in expensive suits in conjunction with the interior. The buyer is unknown.

4. "They say the dead soldiers" (1992)


Author - Jeff Wall
Price - $ 3,666,500

Canadian photographer Jeff Wall known for his large-scale photographs, "calling card" of the artist is he developed technology for printing pictures in a transparent manner.

His most famous work, "said the dead soldiers" was created under the influence of the war in Afghanistan. Despite the realism, it staged photography: all people in the picture - invited actors. When working on it Wall used make-up and costumes, and the picture was taken in a photo studio and later processed by a computer.

The final image size of 229 × 417 cm were printed on a transparent basis and placed in a plastic box.

5. Untitled (Cowboy) (2001-2002)


Author - Richard Prince
Price - $ 3,401,000

Richard Prince is one of the most famous American artists of his generation. The main theme of his work - stylized period of the so-called "American Antiquity" and the modern world consumption. World fame brought him three photos, which include and "Cowboy».

Picture was created specifically for the campaign "Marlborough": cowboy in the picture, according to the artist, appears not as a typical American standard of courage, sung in Westerns, but as a sex symbol illusory, unattainable ideal of a real man.

The painting was sold in 2007, the year the auction «Christie's».

6. 99 cents II, Diptych (2001)


Author - Andreas Gursky
Price - $ 3,346,456

The above snapshot "Rhine II» - not only photo-millionnik Gursky: his work of two photos "99 cents II» was sold for less, but still brought the creator of several million dollars.

In the photos depicted a supermarket, where consumer goods are exhibited. In general, two images are strikingly similar and differ only in the angles. Of course, Gursky resorted to computer processing that failed with pictures unnecessary details - buyers, low-hanging lamps and wires.

Photo acquired in 2007 by Ukrainian businessman Victor Pinchuk. The high cost is due to the pictures, first of all, the author's name, the time of sale priobrёtshemu already huge popularity.

7. Los Angeles (1998)


Author - Andreas Gursky
Price - $ 2,941,755

More in a single shot depicts Gursky night landscape of Los Angeles - a city with a bird's-eye view looks like a distant field of artificial lights. Photo symbolizes the modern world and place it in person. According to the artist, and the man is the protagonist of this photo: everyone lives in the vast world of globalization, which takes the place of just one of the millions of inhabitants of the same.

8. Lake in the moonlight (1904)


Author - Edward Steichen
Price - $ 2,928,000

Impressionist painter Edward Steichen worked in the first half of the XX-th century: he created a series of portraits of famous Hollywood celebrities, and later engaged in documentaries, for which he received several "Oscars».

His most famous photo work - "Lake in the moonlight" - autochrome Photo: originally a former black-and-white image, "Lake" acquired through the use of color photosensitive Stayhenom jelly. No one before him did not use this technology, so that the image can be regarded as the world's first color photograph.

In 2006, the "Lake in the moonlight" was sold at auction, "Sotheby's" for a lot of money. Price can be considered reasonable - shot over a century, and it is an excellent illustration of the history of photography preserved.

9. Untitled # 153 (1985)


Author - Cindy Sherman
Price - $ 2,770,500

Another example of creativity Cindy Sherman - photo Untitled # 153. It shows a dead muddy woman with blue-gray hair: glassy eyes staring at the sky, his mouth half open and visible bruise on her cheek. Photo leaves behind an eerie feeling, but, nevertheless, it was sold at auction for a seven-figure sum.

10. Billy the Kid (1879-80)


Author - Unknown
Price - $ 2,300,000

Billy the Kid was an American criminal, convicted of the murder of 21-th person. The governor of one of the states of the Wild West has appointed a reward for his capture, and killed the Kid, Pat Garrett sheriff, who wrote a biography of then thug.

The uniqueness of this picture is that it is - a single image of Billy the Kid, other photo does not exist. It was sold in 2011, at the 22nd annual auction «Brian Lebel's Old West Show & Auction» in Denver. Collector William Koch bought it for more than $ 2 million, although initially the organizers did not expect to get a snapshot of more than $ 400 thousand.

Authorship is attributed to a Friend Kid Dan Dedrick, however, to ascertain exactly who took the picture, it is already impossible. The photo was taken by ambrotype, using a metal plate, and the image on it flipped.