2025 has been a monumental year for photography in museums. From Man Ray to Tyler Mitchell, several photographers featured in Sotheby's auction have been the subject of some of the most notable exhibitions of the year.

Now on View

From the very beginning, photographers have used the medium to document style and fashion. Explore how the photographs on offer can convey style that spans decades from highly choreographed works to candid snapshots.

An Eye for Style

Vera Lutter’s Pepsi-Cola, Long Island City, VIII, June 24, 1998 is a product of the oldest optical technology still in use–the camera obscura. Explore how and why Lutter employs this deeply historic process.

Anatomy of an Artwork

From Cindy Sherman to David LaChapelle, discover the creative ways color is utilized by some of the most influential photographers.

Contemporary Color

Discover how photographers from Diane Arbus to Todd Hido capture various domestic dwellings and the implied presence of the individuals who inhabit them.

Looking for Home

Sotheby's is the premier destination for photographs by Edward Weston. Five lots in the sale, including rarely seen images and Weston's handwritten captions, hail from the descendents of J. Leslie Meek, an advertising representative who worked for several magazines including California Arts &amp; Architecture&nbsp;which published articles on Weston's photography during the early 1930s.

Highlights by Edward Weston

From his confrontational ‘Big Nude’ series to provocative portraits of some of the most striking women of the 20th century, Helmut Newton pushed boundaries for decades through his photography.

Highlights by Helmut Newton

New York

Gelatin silver. Chromogenic. Archival pigment. Photography is full of technical terms identifying different kinds of chemical and digital processes used to make images. Here’s what you need to know about the most common types of photographic prints.

SVP, Global Head of Prints & Photographs

Emily Bierman

VP, Senior Specialist

Aimee Pflieger

Cataloguer

Matt Parciak

Pre-Sale Experience Coordinator

Natalie Alford

Associate, Global Fine Art

Ben Levine

Meet our Specialists

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This year marks the 50th anniversary of Sotheby’s Photographs in New York. Since 1975, we’ve led the market with record-breaking sales of iconic works. This October, our fall auction will showcase a dynamic range of photographs—from Man Ray and Diane Arbus to LaToya Ruby Frazier and Tyler Mitchell—spanning the 186-year history of the medium.

Photographs Part II