The 2.9 million dollar photo
Feb 14, 2020
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Here is a little known fact:
One of the most expensive ‘photographs’ ever sold in an auction was sold for $2.9m. Edward Steichens‘s, The Pond – moonrise, shot in 1904 and not in focus…
Don’t get too hung up on gear and specs
Take less images and make more photographs
It’s not what it looks like, it’s how it makes you feel…
Here is the relevant information from Wikipedia, if you wish to learn more:
The Pond—Moonlight (also exhibited as The Pond—Moonrise) is a pictorialist photograph by Edward Steichen. The photograph was made in 1904 in Mamaroneck, New York, near the home of his friend art critic Charles Caffin. The photograph features a forest across a pond, with part of the moon appearing over the horizon in a gap in the trees. The Pond—Moonlight is an early photograph created by manually applying light-sensitive gums, giving the final print more than one color.
Only three known versions of The Pond-Moonlight are still in existence and, as a result of the hand-layering of the gums, each is unique. In February 2006, a print of the photograph sold for US $2.9 million, at the time, the highest price ever paid for a photograph at auction. The photograph was bought by gallerist Peter MacGill on behalf of a private buyer. This auction is presented in the part 6 of the BBC documentary The Genius of Photography. In addition to the auctioned print, the other two versions are held in museum collections. The extraordinary sale price of the print is, in part, attributable to its one-of-a-kind character and to its rarity.
p.s. thank you for sharing this! You know who you are!
Guest Author
We love it when our readers get in touch with us to share their stories. This article was contributed to DIYP by a member of our community. If you would like to contribute an article, please contact us here.
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16 responses to “The 2.9 million dollar photo”
No EXIF?????? ?
It would be funny to post this in one of the “Photography” groups and see how many “Experts” try to destroy the photographer.
I am seriously doing something wrong. ?♂️
That’s right. You didn’t become one of the most famous photographers in the entire history of photography.
$4,338,500.00
Love Gursky!
Rhein II. The Steichen photograph is one of three unique prints. A single Ansel Adams print of “Moonrise over Hernandez” sold for $700,000+ but he had printed the negative over 1300 times.
It’s pictorialism.
It’s an aesthetic.
It has a lot to do with who the art studios want to push. Also how much rich people have for friends. Looks like junk to me.
Art is subjective and is about what it makes the viewer feel. As soon as we get into pixel peeking and technical specs, we are no longer viewing it as art.
Don’t get too hung up on gear and specs
Take less images and make more photographs
It’s not what it looks like, it’s how it makes you feel…
(and, totally insignificant 4th advice:)
Get yourself a time shift device, travel back to 1904 and shoot one of the very first color photos ever made.
SCNR.
Get some 8x10s printed, some cheap frames off of Amazon with matts and frame some pictures..see how you feel about them.
I recently did this with about 20 photos and it changed my perspective
Less is more
At least it wasn’t another Peter Lik …. ?
I would only go as high as 1.2mil
I just took advantage of the printique website free two prints for a limited time and mine are in focus haha waiting to get them on the mail