Photographs

Photographs have existed in various forms from the daguerreotypes of the early 19th century right through to today’s development of digital technology.

London dealers P & D Colnaghi have been selling photographs since the 1850s while the first photographic auctions took place in London in the mid-19th century, and though slower to take hold in the US, Alfred Stieglitz established important photographic galleries in New York during the first half of the 20th century.

Some of the most collectable photographers include Julia Margaret Cameron, Ansel Adams, Cindy Sherman, and Irving Penn.

Whitby working life in focus at Swann sale

27 January 2020

An album dating to c.1887 containing 64 evocative albumen prints by Frank Meadow Sutcliffe, documenting Whitby, England, is on offer at New York auction house Swann.

Mark Twain in the frame as carte de visite emerges in Philadelphia

20 January 2020

This carte de visite picturing the author Mark Twain (Samuel L Clemens) is signed and inscribed twice.

Unseen Christine Keeler photos and letters come to market

10 January 2020

Previously unpublished letters and photos belonging to the late Christine Keeler, who was the centre of a political scandal in the early 1960s after having affairs with both a government minister and a Russian diplomat, have emerged at auction and at a dealership.

Photo portraits and postcard are pick of a Berlin auction

23 December 2019

A set of famous and highly collectable photographic portraits by a well known photographer and a rare postcard painted by a German Expressionist were two highlights of an auction at Berlin saleroom Grisebach (30/25% buyer’s premium) on November 27.

Photographic carte de visite portraits of Carson, Custer and ‘Our Willie’ sold in Dallas

25 November 2019

Featured here are three photographic carte de visite portraits of American interest from an historical manuscripts and documents sale held in Dallas by Heritage (25/20/12.5% buyer’s premium).

The railway that carried escaped slaves to freedom

18 November 2019

Sporting a distinctive hairstyle and beard that the cataloguer suggested “…would never again be replicated until early 21st-century Brooklyn”, the photograph below was part of a slavery and abolition-themed lot sold for $80,000 (£64,725) in an Americana sale held in New York by Swann (25/20/12% buyer’s premium) on September 25.

Vintage print of Julia Margaret Cameron's 'The Dream' offered at Berlin auction

18 November 2019

Although her career as a photographer lasted only some 16 years, Julia Margaret Cameron (1815-79) is acknowledged as a pioneer of the medium, creating a remarkable oeuvre of portraits and other photographic compositions.

Archive from the queen’s dress designer excels

11 November 2019

A Cecil Beaton sketch of Christian Dior working in his studio in Paris sold for £5200 (estimate £500-700) as part of the estate of society dress designer Ian Thomas (1929-93).

Bristol photo fair begins life

28 October 2019

New event unveiled which could become biannual if the launch is a success

Arctic expedition group bears up well at Forum Auctions

14 October 2019

A small but very successful section of a recent London sale offered a group of just eight lots related to the British Arctic Expedition of 1875-76.

Trio of early Far Eastern photography lots top Gloucestershire auction

07 October 2019

Three lots by pioneering Scottish travel photographer John Thomson (1837-1921) led a sale of 19th and 20th century photography at the Dominic Winter auction last week.

Yorkshire quartet in New York as Frank Meadow Sutcliffe photos offered at Swann

16 September 2019

Four works by the pioneering British photographer Frank Meadow Sutcliffe (1853-1941) will feature in Swann Galleries’ sale of Photographs in New York on October 17.

The web shop window: Last Men of the Revolution

09 September 2019

Thousands of items are available to buy from dealers online. Here we pick out one that caught our eye this week.

ATG letter: Fleetwood Mac photo – more details on the line-up mystery

02 September 2019

MADAM – Regarding the photograph of Fleetwood Mac first shown in ATG No 2403, I have some more information which may be of interest.

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Apollo 11 footage tops Sotheby’s space auction on 50th anniversary of moon landing

24 July 2019

NASA videotape recordings of the Apollo 11 mission topped Sotheby’s Space Exploration Sale held on the 50th anniversary of the first manned moon landing.

Six places to see and buy art in London this weekend and beyond including the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition

14 June 2019

Chelsea and Mayfair are two major centres for the art trade, particularly in the summer when events like Masterpiece and London Art Week (respectively) arrive.

New York auctions to celebrate the LGBTQ community and mark 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising

05 June 2019

As the Pride season begins this month with a series of events and parades in major cities to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community, Sotheby’s, Bonhams and Swann Auction Galleries are to hold auctions honouring the movement.

The web shop window: 'A Night in London' by photojournalist Bill Brandt

03 June 2019