Photographs

As the global leader in fine art photographs, Sotheby’s is committed to excellence, innovation, and the highest level of client service. Whether through record-breaking auctions, private sales, or bespoke advisory, we invite collectors and enthusiasts worldwide to join us in shaping the market of this extraordinary medium.

Sotheby’s pioneered the market for fine art photography, becoming the first international auction house to hold regular sales of photographs in 1971 in London and 1975 in New York. For more than 50 years, we have presented exceptional works spanning the history of the medium, ranging from rare 19th-century salt prints and daguerreotypes to classic 20th-century images and cutting-edge contemporary works of the 21st century.

Our leadership in single-owner sales is unmatched, having brought to market nine of the most valuable photography collections ever sold. In 2024, Ansel Adams: A Legacy | Photographs from the Meredith Collection achieved a 100% sell-through rate and realized $4.6 million, far exceeding its pre-sale estimate and setting an unprecedented 41 new records–nearly half of all lots–affirming Sotheby’s position as the global leader for Ansel Adams works. In 2023, Pier 24 Photography from the Pilara Family Foundation Sold to Benefit Charitable Organizations achieved more than $12 million across a multi-auction series, establishing world records for 13 artists, including $952,500 for Robert Frank’s renowned ‘Charleston, S. C.’ (1955).

Sotheby’s continues to define the market for photographs through historic achievements and record-breaking results. Edward Steichen’s The Pond-Moonlight (1904) fetched $2.9 million at Sotheby’s New York in 2006, becoming the first photograph to surpass the $1 million and $2 million mark. In 2014, Sotheby’s set a benchmark for any photographs auction with the sale of Property From the Joy of Giving Something Foundation, which totaled $21.3 million, nearly 10 percent of that year’s record $230.5 million for the medium. In 2025, Sotheby’s achieved the highest price of the year for a photograph offered by any auction house with Man Ray's Noir et blanche (1926), which sold for $2.8 million, as well as the top price for a 19th-century photograph with Linnaeus Tripe's Photographic Views in Tanjore and Trivady (1858), which sold for $203,200.

Innovation is central to our approach. In 2025, Sotheby’s Photographs joined forces with Sotheby’s Prints & Multiples department to launch Prints & Photographs, a fresh cross-category live sale in New York that celebrates the expressive power of the printed mediums and engages both seasoned collectors and a new generation of collectors. This cross-category sale complements our major seasonal photography auctions in New York and offerings within Sotheby’s Modern & Contemporary Art sales in London, Paris, Cologne, and New York. Independent of the auction calendar, Sotheby's specialists work discreetly with collectors to build and refine their collections through private sales.

Our team combines passion with expertise, consistently setting new world records for artists as diverse as August Sander, David Wojnarowicz, Louise Lawler, William Henry Fox Talbot, and Ansel Adams, among many others. Grounded in academic rigor and trusted for our unparalleled connoisseurship of the medium, Sotheby’s continues to bring new categories to market and redefine the criteria against which photographs and collections are judged.