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.


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Obituary: photography dealer and boxing collector Pierre Spake

16 October 2026

The dealer in art and vintage photography Pierre Spake has died at the age of 72. For the past year he had been undergoing treatment for cancer.

Toby Ziff

Lockdown opened an opportunity for a young art and antiques dealer

09 October 2026

Online purchases during the pandemic started an unplanned career in the trade and now a first exhibition.

2763NEDI Man Ray Christies

Spotlight on Therond photography collection

02 October 2026

As Paris Photo (November 12-15) prepares to welcome collectors from around the world, Christie’s is offering more than 350 photographs from the Roger Therond Collection across three sales taking place in Paris on November 13-14, and online from November 6-17.

Peter Rabbit's Almanac

Beatrix Potter family collection comes to auction in Cumberland 

11 September 2026

A group of books, letters and photographs from the family of Beatrix Potter’s (1866-1943) great-nephew, the late Brigadier John Heelis OBE (1921-2008), will come to auction next week.

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Photograph makes the connection to an epic rail painting

04 September 2026

An oversize 1881 albumen photograph of Thomas Hill’s painting 'The Last Spike', depicting the instant of the creation of the first continental railroad in the US, rolled to a five-figure sum at Freeman’s (28% buyer’s premium) in Chicago.

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Another Annan photographic record of Glasgow appears

04 September 2026

Thomas Annan’s Photographs of The Old Closes and Streets of Glasgow is the earliest and most famous photographic record of the city’s slums.

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Hammer total climbs to nearly £35,000 at auction for Arthur Wakefield archive detailing the 1922 British Mount Everest Expedition

03 August 2026

A fascinating archive of diaries and photographs shedding light on the 1922 British Mount Everest Expedition has sold for almost £35,000 in total at auction.

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The Glasgow slums revealed by a pioneering photographer

03 July 2026

Thomas Annan’s famous book is now rated as ‘one of the finest photographic works of the 19th century’

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Inscribed by Nietzsche to his close friend

05 June 2026

An “exceedingly uncommon” signed and inscribed photograph of the German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) earned top-lot honours in an Autographs sale held at Swann.

Oscar Wilde college photo

As one Oscar Wilde Oxford college photo sells in the UK, another is found in US library

22 May 2026

A rare photograph of the poet and playwright Oscar Wilde taken during his time at Magdalen College, Oxford sold for £4200 (plus 22% buyer’s premium) at a Dominic Winter auction.

Oscar Wilde photograph

Unrecorded photograph of Oscar Wilde discovered at Gloucestershire auction

06 May 2026

A seemingly unrecorded photograph of the poet and playwright Oscar Wilde taken during his time at Magdalen College, Oxford has been found by Gloucestershire auction house Dominic Winter.

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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.

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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.

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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

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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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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