Most Expensive Photographs Ever Sold: Record-Breaking Fine Art Photography Prices

Photography has always been a mix of art and money. Some images are worth millions. Not because of how they look, but because of their history, the artist behind them, or how rare the print is. Below is a breakdown of the most expensive photos ever sold at auction. These are the ones that made headlines and rewrote the market. Prices listed are in US dollars and include the buyer’s premium, which is the extra fee charged by the auction house.

 

The Top Spot: Man Ray's Le Violon d'Ingres

In May 2022, Man Ray’s photo Le Violon d'Ingres, taken in 1924, sold for $12.4 million at Christie’s in New York. This surreal black-and-white image is now the most expensive photograph ever sold. It blends a woman’s back with the f-holes of a violin, turning the body into an instrument. It's one of the most iconic images in photography history.

Edward Steichen's The Flatiron Comes Close

Coming in second is Edward Steichen’s The Flatiron, a moody shot from 1904. It sold in November 2022 for $11.8 million, also at Christie’s New York. This photo shows New York’s Flatiron Building in winter. The lighting and composition reflect early photographic techniques mixed with painterly style.

Andreas Gursky's Rhein II Leads in Modern Work

Third on the list is Andreas Gursky’s Rhein II, from 1999. It fetched $4.3 million in 2011. Gursky is known for large-scale, highly edited images of architecture and landscapes. This one shows a calm stretch of the Rhine River. He digitally removed buildings and paths to simplify the view. It’s minimal but powerful.

Richard Prince’s Reworked Americana

Richard Prince has multiple works on this list. His most expensive, Spiritual America from 1981, sold for nearly $4 million in 2014. The photo reuses an earlier image of a young Brooke Shields. It stirred controversy and sparked debate about image ownership and meaning. Prince also has several of his Cowboy series in the top rankings. These are rephotographed shots of old Marlboro ads. They sell for millions because of how he reimagines American masculinity and myth.

Cindy Sherman’s Iconic Self-Portraits

Cindy Sherman is another big name. Her Untitled #96, taken in 1981, went for just under $3.9 million in 2011. In it, she plays a teenage girl lying on the floor, staring into space. Sherman stages all her own photos, dressing up and creating scenes that reflect identity and gender roles. Her Untitled #93, also from 1981, sold for $3.86 million in 2014. Both were auctioned in New York.

Gilbert & George and Royal Imagery

In 2008, the artist duo Gilbert & George sold To Her Majesty for over $3.76 million at Christie’s in London. The photo, made in 1973, is part of their larger body of work mixing performance, politics, and bold visual style. This piece reflects on British identity and authority.

Jeff Wall and His Dramatic Tableaux

Jeff Wall’s massive staged photograph Dead Troops Talk, made in 1992, sold for $3.66 million in 2012. It’s a fictional battle scene with actors posed as dead Soviet soldiers. The photo, like a painting, is full of emotion and detail. Wall is known for building elaborate sets and using cinematic lighting.

Andreas Gursky Returns With Supermarkets

Gursky appears again with 99 Cent II Diptychon, taken in 2001. It shows an aisle packed with products in a 99-cent store. Bright colors and perfect symmetry make it look unreal. It sold for $3.3 million in 2007.

More of Richard Prince’s Cowboy Series

Prince’s Untitled (Cowboy) from 1998 sold for $3.75 million in 2014. Another version from 2000 went for $3.52 million in 2016. A third, from the early 2000s, sold for $3.4 million in 2007. Each image shows a cowboy figure against a wide landscape. Prince didn’t shoot these photos himself. He rephotographed old ads and turned them into fine art. The controversy around authorship only increased their value.

Andreas Gursky’s Chicago Board of Trade III

In June 2013, Chicago Board of Trade III sold for just under $3.3 million at Sotheby’s in London. Gursky worked on this piece between 1999 and 2009. It’s a detailed view of the hectic trading floor at Chicago’s financial center. He uses high angles and digital edits to highlight repetition and chaos. The crowd looks like a pattern, full of tiny human figures and bright colors. It's more abstract than documentary. That’s Gursky’s signature.

Man Ray’s Noire et Blanche

Man Ray’s Noire et Blanche, taken in 1926, sold for just over $3.1 million at Christie’s Paris in 2017. It shows a woman’s head resting next to an African tribal mask. The photo plays with contrast, both visually and culturally. Black and white tones are strong, but it’s more than a tonal study. It's about identity, beauty, and the clash between cultures. The model is Kiki de Montparnasse, a well-known figure in the Paris art scene of the time.

Richard Prince’s Endless Cowboys

Prince’s Untitled (Cowboy) from 2000 sold for $3.07 million at Sotheby’s New York in 2014. He followed that with another cowboy image from 1997, which went for just over $3 million in 2021. Prince rephotographed parts of Marlboro ads and turned them into large-scale art prints. They’re not about selling cigarettes. They’re about American symbols, the cowboy myth, and how media shapes identity. Prince’s method of appropriation raised legal questions, but it also helped redefine what counts as original art.

Cindy Sherman’s Film Still #48

Untitled Film Still #48 by Cindy Sherman brought in $2.96 million at Christie’s New York in 2015. This photo is part of her iconic black-and-white series where she dressed up as female characters from imaginary movies. In this image, she’s standing on a roadside, looking off into the distance. It feels like a scene from an old American film. But there’s no real story behind it. That’s the point. She invites the viewer to fill in the blanks.

Edward Steichen’s The Pond—Moonlight

Steichen’s The Pond—Moonlight, shot in 1904, fetched $2.93 million in 2006. It’s one of the earliest color photographs ever made. He used a technique called gum bichromate over platinum print. Only a few copies exist. The photo shows a wooded path by a pond, with moonlight filtering through the trees. It looks more like a painting than a photo. That blend of style and innovation explains why it sold so high.

Gursky’s Los Angeles Cityscape

Gursky’s Los Angeles from 1998 sold for $2.9 million in 2008. This massive image shows a wide view of the city lit up at night. The detail is incredible. From a distance, it looks like glowing pixels. Up close, you see streetlights and roads stretching forever. It’s about scale, energy, and how we build urban life.

Sherman’s Untitled #96, Again

Cindy Sherman’s Untitled #96 shows up again, this time selling for $2.88 million in 2012. Like the version that sold for more than a year earlier, it shows her on the floor holding a scrap of newspaper. Her expression is vague. The photo feels intimate and staged at the same time. It’s part of her Centerfolds series, which mimics magazine layouts but flips the message.

Another Cowboy by Richard Prince

Prince’s Untitled (Cowboy) from 2000 also sold in 2007 for $2.84 million. It’s another take on the Marlboro Man theme. The consistent sales of his cowboy series show the staying power of his concept. They’re not snapshots. They’re carefully chosen, cropped, and blown up into something much larger than their source material.

Cindy Sherman’s Untitled #153

Sherman’s Untitled #153, taken in 1985, sold for $2.77 million in 2010. This image is haunting. She plays a woman lying in dirt, eyes wide open, makeup smeared. The photo feels like a crime scene or horror still, but it’s completely staged. Sherman creates all her characters. Nothing is random. Her work is all about roleplay and the masks people wear.

Gursky’s First Chicago Board of Trade

Before Board of Trade III, there was Chicago Board of Trade from 1997. That earlier version sold in 2013 for about $2.5 million. It’s similar in subject, showing a busy floor full of movement and repetition. Gursky revisits scenes to refine them over time. This one still holds its own in both detail and impact.

Yet Another 99 Cent Piece by Gursky

In 2006, another copy of 99 Cent II Diptychon went for $2.48 million. This photo shows endless rows of colorful products in a dollar store. It’s glossy and symmetrical. It messes with your sense of space. Gursky’s use of repetition and bold color makes it one of his most recognizable works.

Paris, Montparnasse by Gursky

Gursky’s Paris, Montparnasse sold for $2.41 million in 2013. It’s a photo of a large apartment block in the Montparnasse neighborhood. The building fills the frame. Windows, balconies, and curtains create a grid. There’s no sky. No street. Just a facade. It turns everyday architecture into an abstract pattern.

The Tintype of Billy the Kid

One rare photo with no known artist is the tintype portrait of Billy the Kid, taken between 1879 and 1880. It sold for $2.3 million in 2011. It’s one of the only confirmed photos of the outlaw. A tintype is a direct-positive image made on metal. This one is small and simple, but the subject makes it priceless to collectors of American history.

Gursky’s Original 99 Cent Image

Before the diptychs, Gursky made 99 Cent in 1999. It sold for $2.25 million in 2006. Like the others, it shows tightly packed shelves and bright labels. It's consumer overload turned into high art. The way he captures order in chaos is part of what gives the image lasting value.

Cindy Sherman’s Film Still Returns

Another print of Sherman’s Untitled Film Still #48 sold in 2014 for $2.22 million. Same photo, different auction, different copy. The repeat appearances of her work show just how much collectors value her staged self-portraits. The limited number of prints keeps demand high.

Man Ray’s Portrait of a Tearful Woman

Rounding out this section is Portrait of a Tearful Woman, a 1936 photo by Man Ray. It sold for just over $2.16 million in 2017. The image shows a close-up of a woman’s face with tears streaming down her cheeks. Her eyes are closed. The photo is moody, poetic, and completely staged. Man Ray was known for blending photography with surrealism, and this photo captures that balance well.

 

Why These Photos Sell for So Much

These high prices come down to artist reputation, image rarity, and auction demand. Some are one-of-a-kind. Others are part of a limited edition. But all are tied to big names in the art world. Galleries, collectors, and investors are willing to pay top dollar for them.

These photographs are treated like assets, collected and sold like paintings or sculptures. Each one on this list set a record and pushed photography further into the world of fine art. Whether old or new, staged or candid, they’ve changed how we value images.