I found an interesting article about a series of spring photo auctions bringing in $19.5 million. What do these pieces have that is so extraordianry? Is it the name, the market, or the craftsmanship of the work?
I decided to put in some of the highest grossing photos to assess...
Cindy Sherman untitled #278
This piece was sold for $242,500. This piece reminds me that I can take pictures of people in my life and use them in the art world. I have a strange fear that because a photo is not of someone the buyer knows they won't want it. Art is all about paintings, sculptures, and pictures of people you don't know! Needless to say, I would not mind selling a portrait for as much as this one ;)
Desiree Dolron’s Xteriors VI
Here is another example of a great portrait. This photo sold for $194,500. I enjoy the flawlessness of the subjects skin. The lighting and the simplicity of it all. It doesn't really look like a photo to me.
Richard Avedon’s Marilyn Monroe, New York City, May 6, 1957
This photo went for $482,500. Richard Avedon is and probably always will be one of my photography favorites. His simple backgrounds and use of the subjects to tell the story is amazing. He strove to capture people at their most raw and unguarded. This photo didn't just sell because it was of Marilyn Monroe i'm pretty sure. Avedon has a gift!
Eugène Atget’s La Villette, rue Asselin, 1921
This photo sold for $242,500.
It is yet another example of a portrait and relatively simple surroundings. What makes this photo more interesting is that it was taken in 1921, a time void of the benefits of digital cameras. I find the use of stone work and line very interesting.
These pieces and all of the rest are interesting to look at and pick up on characteristics. What do they have that can be added into a work and used to benefit photography today?
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