Man Ray’s Le Violon d’Ingres holds the photography auction record listed by Christie’s: $12,412,500, achieved in New York on May 14, 2022. Edward Steichen’s The Flatiron also achieved an $11,840,000 sale later that year.
But “the most expensive photograph” needs a little context. A vintage print, a work assembled from many photographs, an NFT and a reported private sale are different things. Even two prints of the same image can sell for very different amounts.
Below are ten notable examples from the photography market, followed by Peter Lik’s reported Phantom sale. Auction results are given where the public records support them. This is a selection, not a complete current world ranking. Whether you’re a budding photographer or curious about the art market, look at the particular object sold as well as its price.
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Most Expensive Photographs: Sale Records at a Glance
- Le Violon d’Ingres, Man Ray — $12,412,500, Christie’s New York, May 14, 2022.
- The Flatiron, Edward Steichen — $11,840,000, Christie’s New York, November 9, 2022.
- Rhein II, Andreas Gursky — $4,338,500, Christie’s New York, November 8, 2011.
- Spiritual America, Richard Prince — $3,973,000, Christie’s New York, May 12, 2014.
- Untitled #96, Cindy Sherman — $3,890,500, Christie’s New York, May 11, 2011.
- Untitled #93, Cindy Sherman — Sotheby’s New York, May 14, 2014; the public catalogue does not display its result.
- Twin Flames #49, Justin Aversano — $35,280, Sotheby’s NFT auction, June 10, 2021.
- To Her Majesty, Gilbert & George — £1,889,250, Christie’s London, June 30, 2008.
- Untitled (Cowboy), Richard Prince — $3,749,000, Christie’s New York, May 12, 2014.
- Dead Troops Talk, Jeff Wall — $3,666,500, Christie’s New York, May 8, 2012.
How to read the figures: Dollar amounts are US dollars. Auction totals include the buyer’s premium; they are not hammer prices or the seller’s net proceeds. Sterling stays in its original currency, with no exchange-rate conversion or inflation adjustment. A private-sale announcement and an unverified resale report are separate from a documented auction result. The order above follows this selection’s images, not a cross-currency ranking.
Le Violon d’Ingres (1924)
- Photographer: Man Ray
- Object sold: Unique gelatin silver print, flush-mounted on board
- Sale: Christie’s New York, May 14, 2022, lot 615
- Price realised: $12,412,500, including buyer’s premium
Christie’s lot record identifies a unique print signed and dated 1924 and stamped “ORIGINAL” on the reverse. The collectors Rosalind Gersten Jacobs and Melvin Jacobs acquired it from Man Ray in 1962. Those details matter: this result belongs to that print, not to every later print of the image.
Kiki de Montparnasse’s back takes the shape of a violin, with f-holes added to the photographic image. They were not painted on the sitter’s skin. The picture shows Man Ray’s innovative approach to Surrealist photography.
Its striking juxtaposition of a human figure and a musical instrument adds an intriguing layer of symbolism. The visual idea remains readable even before you know the auction history.
The Flatiron (1904; print made in 1905)
- Photographer: Edward Steichen
- Object sold: Gum-bichromate over platinum print
- Sale: Christie’s New York, November 9, 2022, lot 4
- Price realised: $11,840,000, including buyer’s premium
Steichen made the photograph in 1904 and this print in 1905. It sold in Visionary: The Paul G. Allen Collection Part I. The lot record and Christie’s sale results identify the same object and exact total.
As an example of classic architectural photography, Steichen’s scene uses a building silhouette, foreground branch and atmospheric light to capture the essence of urban landscapes. The gum process adds a painterly quality to the platinum print.
For photographers exploring the beauty of urban environments, the useful lesson is how the whole scene supports the building. Steichen accentuated the architectural details through viewpoint and contrast without making the photograph a simple building record.
Rhein II (1999)
- Photographer: Andreas Gursky
- Object sold: Chromogenic color print face-mounted to Plexiglas; edition 1/6
- Sale: Christie’s New York, November 8, 2011, lot 44
- Price realised: $4,338,500, including buyer’s premium
The auctioned print is number one from an edition of six. The museum reproduction shown here does not establish that it is the physical print sold at auction.
This minimalist masterpiece reduces the Rhine to horizontal bands of grass, water and sky. Gursky used digital editing to remove distracting features, including industrial buildings. The clean view is a constructed image rather than an untouched scene.
Minimalist landscape photographers can study it as an example of the power of simplicity and composition. Its 2011 sale set an auction record at the time; the reported 2014 private sale discussed below does not establish when that auction record ended.
Spiritual America (1983)
- Photographer: Richard Prince
- Object sold: Ektacolor print; edition 10/10, plus two artist’s proofs
- Sale: Christie’s New York, May 12, 2014, lot 19
- Price realised: $3,973,000, including buyer’s premium
Christie’s dates the sold work to 1983. It is Prince’s rephotograph of a Gary Gross image of Brooke Shields made when she was a child.
The work raises questions about consent, authorship and the reuse of an existing image. Those questions place it among the most controversial photos in history. Its auction price does not settle them.
Prince’s approach also illustrates the enduring relevance of conceptual photography: the context of an image can be central to the work, beyond the camera technique used to make it.
Untitled #96 (1981)
- Photographer: Cindy Sherman
- Object sold: Color coupler print; edition 10/10
- Sale: Christie’s New York, May 11, 2011, lot 6
- Price realised: $3,890,500, including buyer’s premium
The 2011 lot was catalogued as Untitled. Christie’s identifies it as #96 in the Metro Pictures archive. That distinguishes it from another print of #96 sold in 2012 for a different amount.
The image belongs to Sherman’s Centerfolds series, not Untitled Film Stills. Sherman appears as a fictional character lying on the floor and holding a torn newspaper page.
It is an example of self-portraiture and conceptual photography, though the character is not a straightforward autobiographical portrait. Her fearless exploration of self-expression comes through in the pose, color and deliberately ambiguous story.
Untitled #93 (1981)
- Photographer: Cindy Sherman
- Object catalogued: Chromogenic print; edition 4/10
- Auction: Sotheby’s New York, May 14, 2014, lot 12
- Result: Not displayed in the public catalogue
Sotheby’s catalogue confirms the work and edition. The auction page gives May 14, 2014. The public catalogue requires login to view the result, so no sale total is given here.
Like #96, #93 belongs to the 1981 Centerfolds photo series. Sherman portrays a woman in bed, holding dark sheets close to her chest. The tightly cropped horizontal frame helps create the picture’s uneasy mood.
For photographers interested in her approach to self-portraiture, the important distinction is between using yourself as a model and documenting your own life. Sherman builds a character for the photograph.
Twin Flames #49. Alyson & Courtney Aliano
Photo courtesy OpenSea
- Photographer: Justin Aversano
- Format: Photograph issued as an NFT
- Documented auction: Sotheby’s, June 10, 2021, lot 28 — $35,280 including premiums
- Later resale: Reported separately; no verified transaction amount given here
Sotheby’s NFT catalogue identifies its lot as an edition of one, minted on May 27, 2021, with token ID 0 and the contract address recorded in the catalogue. The published auction data gives a $35,280 final price. The $35,280 figure is the auction total, distinct from the $28,000 closed-bid amount.
A 2022 Feature Shoot interview also reports a later resale. That report is separate from the documented Sotheby’s auction. Without a verified transaction record for the resale, it does not supply another sale figure for this selection.
The photograph belongs to Aversano’s Twin Flames project. It shows Alyson remembering her twin sister Courtney through a mirror portrait. Its place in digital art also shows why the object sold needs to be stated clearly: an NFT sale is not automatically a sale of a physical print.
To Her Majesty (1973)
Photo courtesy Lovemoney
- Photographers: Gilbert & George
- Object sold: Gelatin silver prints in 37 parts
- Sale: Christie’s London, June 30, 2008, lot 27
- Price realised: £1,889,250, including buyer’s premium
Christie’s record gives the result in sterling. Keeping that currency avoids presenting a reconstructed dollar conversion as the auction’s original price.
This is a photographic work in 37 parts, not a single standalone print. It belongs to Gilbert & George’s Drinking Sculptures, which used black-and-white photographs of their drinking evenings in the early 1970s.
The arrangement combines elements of collage and performance. It is a useful example of how photography and visual art can meet in the presentation of a group of images.
Untitled (Cowboy) (1998)
Photo courtesy Artnet
- Photographer: Richard Prince
- Object sold: Ektacolor print; artist’s proof aside from an edition of two
- Sale: Christie’s New York, May 12, 2014, lot 24
- Price realised: $3,749,000, including buyer’s premium
This 1998 work is one of Prince’s many Cowboy photographs. The title alone is not enough to identify the sale: the year, edition and lot number matter.
Prince rephotographed advertising imagery associated with Marlboro. By cropping away the advertisement’s text and presenting the image in another context, he made its familiar cowboy symbolism the subject of the work.
For photographers, it is an example of the power of visual storytelling through context. The picture’s meaning depends partly on where its imagery came from and how it is presented.
Dead Troops Talk (1992)
Photo courtesy of the Arthur online museum
- Photographer: Jeff Wall
- Object sold: Transparency in lightbox; edition 1/2, plus one artist’s proof
- Sale: Christie’s New York, May 8, 2012, lot 27
- Price realised: $3,666,500, including buyer’s premium
The full title is Dead Troops Talk (A vision after an ambush of a Red Army patrol, near Moqor, Afghanistan, winter 1986). Christie’s catalogue identifies the large lightbox work and its edition.
The scene is fictional and staged. It is not a photograph documenting an actual battlefield encounter. Wall used actors to construct an imagined conversation between dead soldiers.
The image demonstrates narrative storytelling within photography. The staging, scale and illuminated display all contribute to how the viewer encounters the scene.
Reported Private Sale: Phantom (2014)
- Photographer: Peter Lik
- Image: Phantom, a black-and-white view of Antelope Canyon, Arizona
- Claim announced: December 9, 2014
- Reported private price: $6,500,000; transaction and fee basis not independently verified here
The seller’s 2014 press release announced a $6.5 million sale to a private collector. That confirms what Lik’s business claimed; it is not an auction-house result or an independently checked transaction receipt.
We therefore keep Phantom separate from the documented auction sales. We cannot assign it a verified world ranking or identify the buyer from that announcement.
As a black-and-white landscape photo, it uses a shaft of light within the canyon to form the central shape. Landscape photographers can draw inspiration from how light becomes the subject of the composition.
Photo by Elimende Inagella (Unsplash)
What These Photography Sales Tell Us
The largest documented auction result here is Man Ray’s $12,412,500 Le Violon d’Ingres. But the other examples show why sale lists need more than a photograph’s title and a dollar figure.
Check the print or token identity, the sale date, the original currency and whether fees are included. Keep a reported private sale separate from an auction record. Those details make the figures useful without suggesting that every copy of an image has the same value.
If your goal is to sell your own photographs, here is some advice on selling your images.
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