Most expensive photograph ever sold at auction

The record for most expensive photo sold at auction has been reclaimed by Richard Prince after one of his prints went for US $3,401,000 at Sotheby’s in New York. The previous record was $3.34 million for an Andreas Gursky diptych sold at Sothey’s in London in February 2007. This record-setting Prince image is taken from his untitled cowboy series, in which he photographed sections of Marlboro cigarette ads and got the photos enlarged to a giant size.

Dated 2001-2002, the photo measures 100 by 66 inches and was one of an edition of two plus one artist’s proof. Prince’s works have always remained in controversy as some folks say that he uses other photographers’ work without giving them due credit. But, that couldn’t get in the way of his popularity. The record-setting bid was placed during a contemporary art auction on Nov. 14, 2007. In November 2005, an untitled cowboy photo by Prince was auctioned for $1,248,000 at Christie’s in New York, which was an auction record for photography at the time.

Via:  bornrich