One thing to note in this case is that not every type of photography falls within the scope of art. In order for a photograph to be considered a work of art, the photographer must have a distinctive aura that distinguishes it from other photographers. In other words, if you feel a common spirit when you look at all the photographs of a photographer, it means that art is being made.
The value of some photos can be millions of dollars, either because of the fascinating emotions they make one feel or because of their unique image captured in a single moment. Although it is an art branch whose value is not very known in our country, photography has gained importance especially in Europe.
We have compiled the 20 most expensive photographs in the world, with million dollar prices, for reasons such as historical story, fascinating appearance, being taken at a unique moment or being shot with a very good editing.
NOTE: The photos you will see in this content are not NFTs. On the contrary, NFT technology consists of works that were sold before it entered our lives.
World’s Most Expensive Photos
- Phantom – $6,500,000
- Rhein II – $4,338,500
- Untitled #96 – 3.890. $500
- Dead Troops Talk – $3,666,500
- 99 Cent II Diptychon – $3,346.456
- Chicago Board of Trade III – $3,298,755
- The Pond-Moonlight – $2,928,000
- Untitled #153 – $2,7000,000
- Chicago Board of Trade – $2,355,597
- Billy The Kid – $2,300,000
- Tobolsk Kremlin – $1,750,000
- Nude – $1,600,000
- Georgia O’Keeffe Hands – $1,470,000
- Georgia O’Keeffe Nude – $1,360,000
- Untitled (Cowboy) – $1,248,000
- Nautilus – $1,105,000
- Dovima with Elephants – 1.051 $.976
- Pantheon, Rome – $1,049,000
- Kuwait, Stock Exchange II – $1,014,354
- One – $1,000,000
Pure and enchanting beauty of nature: Phantom
- Price: $6,500,000
- Artist: Peter Lik
- Published: 1999
The photograph named Phantom by Peter Lik, which went down in history as the most expensive photograph in the world, has a fascinating and at the same time frightening beauty. From a hole in the canyon, a ghostly figure appears as a result of the beam of light emanating from it. At the same time, a sandy floor and curved canyon walls remind of the pure and enchanting beauty of nature.
Peter Lik explains the inspiration he got while taking his photographs in an interview with these words: “The main purpose I have acquired in all my photographs has been to capture the power of nature and to make the person looking at the photograph feel passionate towards the photograph.”
The peace created by simplicity. : Rhein II
- Price: $4,338,500
- Artist: Andreas Gursky
- Released: 1999
The famous photograph called Rhein II actually belongs to a series of six photographs and is the largest of them all. Gursky said of this famous photograph, “A certain point overlooking the Rhine has always fascinated me, but a single photograph would not be enough to convey this image.” After Gursky took pictures of the Rhine, which he had forgotten for a long time, he digitally erased the elements that he saw as redundant in the photographs, as it was not exactly what he wanted, and as a result, he obtained the Rhein series, which is the second most expensive photograph in the world.
Colors, clothes, model and a stunning photo: Untitled #96
- Price: $3,890,500
- Artist: 1981
- Release year: Cindy Sherman
Color photograph of American visual artist Cindy Sherman, Untitled #96, is part of the artist’s 12-image series Centerfold. “Are you alone?” I was thinking of a young girl who asks.” )
- Price: $3,666,500
- Artist: Jeff Wall
- Published: 1992
Artist on Dead Troops Walk Jeff Wall captures an atmosphere that resembles both a war painting and a scene out of a zombie movie. Separately, the photo, which has several scenes, depicts the return of soldiers to post-war life. Despite the fact that the photo looks quite realistic, it actually shows every detail of Wall. Jeff Wall decided all the details, such as the stance of the soldiers, their uniforms, their wounds
Order in clutter: 99 Cent II Diptychon
(9 800701) 
- Price: $3,346.456
- Artist: Andreas Gursky
- Published: 2001
99 Cent II Diptychon, one of the most famous photographs of the German artist Andreas Gursky, whose name we will often hear with many of his works in the list of his most expensive photographs, is actually a color photograph consisting of two parts. The work depicts a supermarket with many aisles with lots of colorful products. Realizing that the perspective was too much after the photos were taken, artist Gursky digitally reduced the perspective and created the final version.
One of the best portrayals of confusion: Chicago Board of Trade III
- Price: $3,298,755
- Artist: Andreas Gursky
- Publication year: 1997
We continue the list with another photo of Andreas Gursky. The artist, who generally uses a high view and wide format style in his photographs, can also be observed in his Chicago Board of Trade III work. The work, which is actually the third photograph in a series called Chicago Board of Trade, which was taken in different time periods, depicts the chaos of a normal business day of the Chicago Board of Trade.
Spooky Twilight: The Pond-Moonlight
- Price: $2,928,000
- Artist: Edward Steichen
- Publication year: 1904
In the photograph taken by Edward Steşchen in a pond near his art critic friend’s house, there is an atmosphere as fascinating as it is frightening, with the half-image of the moon appearing on the horizon among the trees in the forest. The reason why it was sold at such a high price is thought to be due to the fact that it was difficult to catch and pulled at a rare moment.
A stunning photo of a corpse: Untitled #153
- Price: $2,7000,000
- Artist: Cindy Sherman
- Release year: 1985
Cindy Sherman is an artist who generally consists of photographic self-portraits and often depicts herself through a character she has created in her imagination. The photograph, dubbed Untitled #153, shows a corpse lying in mud, covered with earth. Thanks to the carefully arranged lighting, very suitable costume color and well done make-up, the resulting photo has an enchanting atmosphere apart from the realism.
Another Gursky signature: Chicago Board of Trade
- Price: $2,355.597
- Artist: Andreas Gursky
- Publication year: 1997
In the list of the world’s most expensive photographs, the first photograph of the Chicago Board of Trade series is included, along with the third photograph. The turmoil created by the high gaze and large format observed in the third photograph describes the daily turmoil of the Chicago Board of Trade.
A juvenile delinquent wanted for years: Billy The Kid
- Price: $2,300,000
- Artist: Anonymous
- Publication year: 1879-1880 (?)
After the death of his father, Billly, a young man who, after his father’s death, did many illegal things such as stealing in Southwest and Northern Mexico, usually with gangs, in 1880. He was captured and tried by one of his sheriffs and sentenced to hang. However, Billy, who killed two more deputies with his escape from prison, was caught and killed by a sheriff one night.
Before his first capture, posters with his photographs were hung everywhere. The poster photograph of Billy, who became very famous especially in America thanks to the crimes he was involved in, was bought at a very high price.
A photograph worthy of its historical beauty: Tobolsk Kremlin
- Price: 1.750.000 Dollars
- Artist: Dmitry Medvedev
- Publication year: 2009
The photograph taken by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev is an aerial view of Tobolsk Kremlin, a historically beautiful structure in Moscow. The Tobolsk Kremlin, which dates back to a very old history, became one of the most expensive photographs in the world after being taken by the head of state and sold at a very high price in a charity auction.
Mystery in Intimacy: Nude
- Price: $1,600,000
- Artist: Edward Weston
- Publication year: 1925
Edward Weston frequently uses nudity in his photographs. However, in her nudity photos, she cuts the model’s face out of the photo or poses so that her face is not visible during the shoot. Therefore, in the photographs, both the privacy of the model is protected and an air of mystery is created.
The photograph Nude shows a human body presumed to be a woman lying face down on the ground. It is not known exactly who the model is, but it is thought to be Weston’s girlfriend at that time, Miriam Lerner.
On a body the artist admires: Georgia O’Keeffe Hands
- Price: $1,470,000
- Artist: Alfred Stieglitz
- Public year: 1919
Alfred Stieglitz decided to photograph the parts of his body that he admired of his lover O’Keeffe, whom he had a passionate love for, which led to his separation from his first wife and children. . After this decision, he acquired a collective portrait work consisting of more than 300 photographs. Stieglitz explains why he made the portrait piecemeal: “To demand a portrait that will be a full portrait of any person is as futile as to demand that a motion picture be condensed into a single photograph.” made a statement.
A new perspective on portrait photography: Georgia O’Keeffe Nude
- Price: $1,360,000
- Artist: Alfred Stieglitz
- Release year: 1919
Another photograph of Alfred Stieglitz on the list, his passionate lover O It consists of the body of ‘Keeffe’. Stieglitz, who thinks that the person does not need to be completely visible for a portrait, does not include his lover’s face and knees in the photo.
The work of an artist who wants to present the closest to the truth: Untitled (Cowboy)
- Price: $1,248,000
- Artist: Richard Prince
- Published: 1989
Richard Prince was a painter who made a living in the 1970s by cutting articles from magazines and rearranging advertising photographs. On this, he said, “The stolen photos I went after were too good to be true. These were wishful thinking, public pictures in the advertising sections of mass-market magazines, pictures unrelated to an author… It was his looks that interested me. I wanted to re-present what is closest to the truth,” said Prince, who could not stand it any longer and started taking pictures of cowboys. The result was one of the most expensive photographs in the world, “Cowboy”.
Contrast between black and white: Nautilus
- Price: $1,105,000
- Artist: Edward Weston
- Publication year: 1927
Edward Weston’s work, Nautilus, which is known as a measure of modernism in the history of photography, puts a nautilus shell on a plain black background and creates a photograph on the contrast of black and white. Taking his inspiration from the seashell paintings he saw at his painter friend’s house, Weston explained that his photographs were always based on real-world objects.
A breakthrough in fashion photography by Richard Acedon: Dovima with Elephants
- Price: $1,051,976
- Artist: Richard Avedon
- Publication year: 1955
Famous for breaking new ground in fashion photography, artist Richard Avedon photographed a model named Dovima in studios and various locations in Paris, like a circus as seen in this photo. For this photo, the artist said, “I saw elephants under a huge skylight. Then I had to find the right dress and I knew there was potential for some kind of dream imagery here.” made a statement. The dress chosen to create her dream image was the first design made for Dior by 19-year-old Yves Saint Laurent.
A magnificent and huge building: Pantheon, Rome
- Price: $1,049,000
- Artist: Thomas Struth
- Publication year: 1990
Thomas Struth’s work was shot in the Pantheon, one of the most magnificent and gigantic structures of Rome. When we look at the photograph, it is striking how small the people inside the gigantic building look in front of this eye-catching building. This photo of Struth actually belongs to a series of people visiting museums and monuments.
Another example of Gursky’s mess: Kuwait, Stock Exchange II
- Price: $1,014,354
- Artist : Andreas Gursky
- Published Year: 2008
An artist who knows even a few of Andreas Gursky’s photographs, is an artist with such obvious features as to say ‘this is a Gursky photograph’. Therefore, the turmoil created by the high perspective and wide format seen in Gursky’s Chicago Board of Trade series can also be observed in Kuwait Stock Exchange.
A single photograph taken at a unique moment: One
- Price: $1,000,000
- Artist: Peter Lik
- Issue year: 2010
Taken just after dawn on the banks of the Androscoggin River, the photo is of a unique moment. Peter Lik only presses the shutter button once while taking this photo and produces a single print for this work. So he decides to name it ‘One’.
For ‘One’, which has the distinction of being the first million-dollar photograph ever sold, Peter Lik says of the morning he took the photo, “I will never forget this morning for the rest of my life.” ‘ The work, which is very valuable due to its uniqueness, manages to enter the list.
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