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Avedon started out as a freelance photographer but was later picked up by Harper's Bazaar, becoming the chief photographer at the magazine. Inspired by photographer Martin Munkacsi who combined photojournalism with fashion photography, Avedon took his models out on the streets, giving his photography a certain energy lacking in the four corners of his studio.


This was a step forward from the works of Edward Steichen and Cecil Beaton who primarily worked in the controlled environment of the photo studio. In fashion photography's infancy, designers and photographers worked to create a distinctive setting inside a confined space. With Avedon's work however, he sought to bring the photos alive through the vibrant and sometimes uncontrollable nature of the outside.


Even with his studio work, Avedon sought to create something new and inspired in his photography. He would capture his models in a whole variety of expressions and poses; laughing, frowning, dancing and even jumping, his fashion photography leaned towards charming out the life in his subjects.

That kind of out-of-the-box imagination certainly paid off dividends as one of his photographs, Dovima with elephants (the first image in this post), fetched a price of $1.151 million at an auction last year, making it one of the most expensive photographs in the world.


Avedon's talent for striking photographs also extended to his portraiture work. From time to time, he would be commissioned to take the portraits of celebrities and politicians on assignment or as part of his own personal projects. In many of his portraiture works, he would use a plain white or grey background, allowing the viewer to focus squarely on the subject.

Among his notable portrait works is his series on The Kennedy Family which he did for Harper's Bazaar. The resulting photographs framed the famous family in a simple, somber and sometimes intimate manner, something rarely seen during that time. His most famous portrait series centered on the ordinary people of the western United States; Avedon spent more than five years photographing cowboys, drifters and gamblers and the resulting portraits were collected in the highly praised book In the American West.


Of course, as with any high profile photographer, Avedon's works weren't always without controversy. Take for example the double portrait of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor below. Avedon recounts that in order to capture the couple in their now famous grimace, he told a lie about running over a dog in his taxi on his way over to the photo shoot. The Royal couple, both dog lovers, expressed their shock at his story and that's when Avedon clicked the shutter.

The photographer would become infamous for many other unflattering portraits, but he would defend his works saying that he wanted to capture the true character, or at least a different angle on his subjects, many of whom were artists and celebrities.


Avedon wasn't just a photographer; he was a restless artist who continuously sought to reinvent the medium. Even in his seventies and up to his death in 2004, he continued to work on many projects. His last one was to be on the presidential election at that time.


More of Richard Avedon's works can be found over at his official website. Among the many books available on his photography, Avedon Fashion 1944-2000 is a good collection of his editorial works. Many of his now famous portraits can be found in Performance: Richard Avedon. His seminal work documenting the American beauty of the west is collected in Avedon at Work: In the American West.

What would you do if you had $1 million? Buy a house? Splurge on a sportscar? For some people, they spend it all on a photograph. In some cases, they spend over $3 million for a single print. If you want to find out more about these multi-million dollar pictures, keep reading to see the world's most expensive photographs ever sold.

The above image just manages to join the list as it was sold for an even $1 million. The  picture, entitled One,  was made by photographer Peter Lik by capturing the reflections made around a riverbank in 2010. It would have made the top ten if it weren't for a recent addition just a few weeks ago. So, without further ado, here are the top ten most expensive photographs sold.


10) Nautilus by Edward Weston


Edward Weston was a pioneering photographer in the early 20th century, helping to advance the field with his works which ranged from portraits to landscapes to still lifes. In April 2010, a signed print of the above 1927 photograph of a seashell (which was hailed as an important photograph in the modernism movement and was originally sold for only $10) fetched a price of a little more than $1.082 million at a Sotheby's New York auction.


9) Dovima with elephants by Richard Avedon


Richard Avedon tops the list of most important fashion photographers of the 20th century. His influence on the style of editorial photography can still be seen in today's fashion magazines. The image of model Dovima in a Yves Saint-Laurent dress (designed for Christian Dior) against a herd of elephants as captured by Avedon made it into one of the most recognized photographs after it was made in 1955. It was sold for more than $1.151 million at a November 2010 auction at Christie's.


8) Untitled (Cowboy) by Richard Prince


Richard Prince is an artist famous for his rephotographed works wherein he photographs existing photos and alters them slightly (or sometimes not at all). The above image was originally taken by Sam Abell for the Marlboro Man campaign. Prince rephotographed and appropriated it in 1989. It sold for $1.248 million in a November 2005 auction at Christie's.


7) Georgia O'Keeffe Nude by Alfred Stieglitz


Alfred Stieglitz was another pioneering photographer who advocated for photography as an art form. This 1919 image shows the posed hands of artist Georgia O'Keefe (whom the photographer later married) sold for $1.360 million in Sotheby's New York in February 2006.


6) Georgia O'Keeffe (Hands) by Alfred Stieglitz


In the same auction as the preceding photograph, this image of Georgia O'Keeffe's posed hands also taken by Alfred Stieglitz fetched a price of $1.472 million.

5) Nude by Edward Weston


It seems that nudes are bigger sellers than still lifes, judging from this sale from the same photographer as the Nautilus which comes in at number 10 of this list. The above photograph of a nude taken in 1925 by Edward Weston sold for $1.609 million at Sotheby's in April 2008.


4) Kremlin of Tobolsk by Dmitry Medvedev


Yes, that Dmitry Medvedev. Aside from being the current President of the Russian Federation, Mr. Medvedev is also an amateur photographer. The 2009 aerial photograph of the kremlin (or stone fortress) in the town of Tobolsk, Russia sold for $1.7 million at a charity auction last year. You can find more of the President's photographs over at his personal website.


3) The Pond-Moonlight by Edward Steichen 


Edward Steichen is better known for his outstanding portraiture work and fashion photographs (mostly for Vanity Fair) in the early 20th century, but his early experimental photographs are apparently worth more. This pictorialist landscape image was made in 1904 using autochrome, an early color photograph technique. It sold for $2.9 million at a Sotheby's New York auction in 2006, setting the record price for a photograph at that time.


2) 99 Cent II Diptychon by Andreas Gursky 


Andreas Gursky is probably the best known contemporary artist who primarily uses large format photography. His trademark style is his huge reproductions of natural and manmade scenes. This record setting picture is a quintessential Gursky, being 6.79 feet x 11.07 feet when it was printed. When it was sold for more than $3.346 million at Sotheby's London to a private collector in 2007, it was the first photograph to fetch a price of over $3 million.


1) Untitled #96 by Cindy Sherman


Some might call this photograph of Cindy Sherman a self-portrait, although others might contest that designation. That is because most of Ms. Sherman's photographs feature herself as the model, each series featuring the photographer as a different person in order to convey a different message. This photograph taken in 1981 sold for $3.89 million at Christie's only a few weeks ago, making it the most expensive photograph ever sold (as of this post).


All told, these top ten most expensive photographs are valued at close to $20 million, most of which were sold only in the last decade. Of course, it's still half way through the year, and there are numerous old and new photos waiting to be auctioned off, so there's still a chance that this list will be modified. So the next time you think an old picture by some long dead photographer isn't worth much, just remember that some of the most expensive photographs ever sold fit that bill.