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.


img_29-2.jpg

London gallery expands horizons as 15th to 19th century art is paired with focus on photography

01 May 2026

On a hot afternoon in 2000, as part of his broader exploration of marginalised communities, Italian photographer Marco Delogu (b.1960) visited a Roma camp on the outskirts of Rome.

img_29-1.jpg

Beauty of Brancusi’s world caught on camera

01 May 2026

Galerie Negropontes has turned to photography to explore the work of another canonical artist.

A photo of Horace Brown fishing

Get hooked in by Horace at the National Vintage Tackle Fair

24 April 2026

This splendid image depicts Horace Brown, a former president of the Piscatorial Society.

img_13-1.jpg

Blonde bombshell from West Brom depicted by De László

02 April 2026

Portrait of actress who mesmerised Hitchcock makes highest sum for the artist since 2020

img_14-2.jpg

A lucky house clearance find to get your teeth into

02 April 2026

Books from a routine call proved disappointing until a first edition Dracula loomed into view

img_11-1.jpg

Reach for the stars: photographs of five 20th century icons at auction

02 April 2026

For followers of rock stars, style icons, actors and actresses, opportunities abound to acquire signed photographs of some of the famous cultural figures of the 20th century.

img_15-1.jpg

Swedish Vega Expedition targeted Northeast Passage

02 April 2026

Compared with Scandinavian exploration by illustrious figures such as Nansen and Amundsen, the Vega Expedition is little known outside the region.

img_10-1.jpg

Long-distance flight moves from experiment to reality thanks to pioneers such as Lombardi

27 March 2026

A rare surviving group of unseen early aviation photographs documenting the pioneering long-distance flights of Italian pilot Carlo Francesco ‘Francis’ Lombardi (1897-1983) was offered at Roseberys (26/25/20% buyer’s premium) in south London on March 11.

World championship match 1972

The Arbiter’s Archive: Sotheby’s to auction extraordinary chess collection

25 March 2026

In the world of chess, few names command as much quiet authority as Lothar Schmid.

img_18-2.jpg

Former dealer’s remarkable Oscar Wilde collection takes four times the estimated total

13 March 2026

The Oscar Wilde Collection formed over 60 years by bibliophile and former dealer in Oriental antiques Jeremy Mason prompted collectors to come out in force and was 100% sold at Bonhams (28/27% buyer’s premium) in Knightsbridge.

Print of Wiltshire thatcher Lot Long

Thatcher who became a Led Zeppelin album cover star

06 March 2026

Described as “a remarkable convergence of Victorian social history and 20th century musical heritage”, a gelatin silver print of the Wiltshire thatcher Lot Long sold for £16,000 (plus 20% buyer’s premium) at Denhams in Warnham, West Sussex on February 25.

Olympia

Photo London unveils plans for its debut event at London’s Olympia in May

19 February 2026

The newly redeveloped Olympia, set to be unveiled this spring after a £1.3bn makeover, will host Photo London in May 2026.

Wilde (1)

Original cabinet card photograph of Oscar Wilde is among five lots to watch

16 February 2026

With estimates from £100, here are five previews of items coming up at auction this week

img_31-1.jpg

Parks highlighted fight for civil rights

13 February 2026

Few photographers were as explicit about the purpose of their work as Gordon Parks (1912-2006), who in 1967 described the camera as his “choice of weapon” against racism, discrimination and poverty.

img_8-3.jpg

Glory days of a Gold Rush town reflected in a scarce photograph

16 January 2026

This ambrotype of a California Gold Rush town sold for £1500, six times the top estimate, as part of the Winter Fine Sale at Hartleys (20% buyer’s premium) in Ilkley on November 26.

img_31-4.jpg

Edgar Allan Poe captured in pioneering photo form

09 January 2026

As he died more than a decade before the medium really took off, very few photographs of the American author Edgar Allan Poe (1809-49) exist.

A daguerreotype of Ada Lovelace

National Portrait Gallery buys only known photographs of Ada Lovelace via Bonhams

02 January 2026

Three photographs of computing pioneer Ada Lovelace (1815-52) have been acquired by the National Portrait Gallery in a private treaty sale.

img_51-1.jpg

Soprano photograph from 1856 hits a high note at auction

10 November 2025

This hand-coloured daguerreotype was taken in 1856 by Rufus Anson, a New York photographer who operated a studio on Broadway from about 1851 to 1867. His address is cut into the velvet interior of the case.

img_25-1.jpg

Cabinet card tells tale of a US legal first

27 October 2025

A c.1891 cabinet card that captures a significant episode of both Native American and US history realised six times its low estimate at Grant Zahajko Auctions (27% buyer’s premium).

img_34-6.jpg

Penn in focus in Paris

20 October 2025

Images by American photographer Irving Penn (1917-2009), who worked with Vogue for more than six decades and is credited with turning fashion photography into an art form, are among the highlights at the latest Paris Photo.

Categories

News

Tags in this section