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.
Soprano photograph from 1856 hits a high note at auction
10 November 2025This 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.
Cabinet card tells tale of a US legal first
27 October 2025A 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).
Penn in focus in Paris
20 October 2025Images 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.
Aussie touring cricketers take new journey 141 years later
20 October 2025This early original carte de visite-sized photograph depicting 11 members of the Australian cricket touring party to England 1884 was a stand-out result from an auction offering 500 items from one of the trade’s stalwart books dealers.
Photographer Tif Hunter at Robert Young Antiques
13 October 2025When the Folk Art dealer Robert Young first met Tif Hunter over 30 years ago, he was instantly drawn to the photographer’s work.
Fern foundations of photographs used in books were laid by pioneering botanist Anna Atkins
01 October 2025The botanist, artist and photographer Anna Atkins (1799-1871) is thought to have been the first woman to have created a photograph and the first person to publish a book illustrated with photographic images.
Hockney salutes a slap-up meal
25 August 2025Photo included in latest Armchair catalogue captures him enjoying the good life at Glyndebourne
Faithful servant of Dr Livingstone in focus at Essex auction
11 August 2025A rare photograph from the funeral of Victorian explorer Dr David Livingstone (1813-73) comes to auction in Essex this summer.
Wilde and Monet photographs bring in the big money in Cambridge
11 August 2025A signed postcard of Oscar Wilde from an image by Alfred Ellis of Baker Street impressed in a timed online sale at Cheffins (25% buyer’s premium).
Rare ambrotype photograph takes 30-times estimate at auction
14 July 2025Image possibly showing co-creator of the ambrotype brings major bidding battle in the US
Rare copy of Victorian photograph book makes £40,000 at Roseberys
11 July 2025Discovered buried in the back of a closet in the US, a rare surviving copy of Peter Henry Emerson’s 1886 work ‘Life and Landscape on the Norfolk Broads’ sold for £40,000 at Roseberys today.
Photo London to be first artworld event held at newly refurbished Olympia
10 July 2025The newly redeveloped Olympia, set to be unveiled later this year after a £1.3bn makeover, will host 'Photo London' in May 2026.
Indiana and Warhol in Whitechapel photography exhibition
07 July 2025When William John Kennedy (1930-2021) and his wife were in the process of moving house in the mid-2000s, they found a box tucked away in the back of a closet.
Early Japanese sketches and photos reveal ‘the dress, manners, customs and country of the people’
30 June 2025Sketches at the Time of the Commencement of British Intercourse with Japan, an album containing 76 watercolours and drawings and 126 wood engravings from the last days of the Edo period, sold for £16,000 at Dominic Winter (22% buyer’s premium).
Pioneering Victorian photograph book found in closet now heads to Roseberys
24 June 2025A scarce copy of a pioneering photograph book showing views of the Norfolk Broads has been consigned to south London saleroom Roseberys.
Only photograph of Abraham Lincoln with a family member emerges at Bonhams
23 June 2025Bonhams is offering a rare portrait of former US President Abraham Lincoln seated with his young son Tad.
Tibet caught on film and canvas including Dalai Lama enthronement
23 June 2025Photo albums contain some of the first images of the remote country plus enthronement of the Dalai Lama
Photos show Maria Callas on and off stage
26 May 2025Stelios Galatopoulos (1932-2022) was a respected Greek music critic (Cypriot-born) who was based in London.
Early Hendon aviation archive to appear at Gloucestershire auction
16 May 2025Hendon was at the forefront of aviation in the early 20th century and many of the pioneering aviators are pictured in an 800-photographic archive being offered at auction next week.
David Bowie, Pink Floyd, Mick Rock and even Nasty Nick from EastEnders make for a highly entertaining Surrey auction
15 May 2025When three teenagers helped Jimi Hendrix and Pink Floyd’s roadies to lug their gear into Central Hall, Chatham, on December 1, 1967, they found themselves locked in with the stars.
- Holts Auctioneers
- Antique Arms & Militaria
- 24 Nov 2025
- British Toy Auctions
- Vintage Die-Casts, Tin Plate Toys, Models, Bears & Dolls
- 24 Nov 2025 - 10:00 AM
- Clarke & Simpson
- Household & Interiors
- 24 Nov 2025 - 10:00 AM
- Paul Beighton Auctioneers
- Antiques & Collectables
- 24 Nov 2025 - 10:00 AM
- Keys Auctions
- Antiques, Collectables, Furniture & Interiors
- 24 Nov 2025 - 10:30 AM
- Southgate Auction Rooms
- Antiques, Fine Art & Interiors
- 24 Nov 2025 - 13:00 PM
Categories
-
- Arms, Armour & Militaria
- Bank notes
- Books & Periodicals
- Cameras & Camera Equipment
- Classic Cars, Motorcycles & Automobilia
- Coins
- Collectables
- Entertainment Memorabilia
- Kitchenalia
- Maps
- Models, Toys, Dolls & Games
- Musical Instruments & Memorabilia
- Scientific Instruments
- Sporting Memorabilia & Equipment
- Stamps
- Taxidermy & Natural History
- Tools
- Wines & Spirits
- Writing Instruments
News
-
- Art finance
- Auctions
- Brexit
- Buyer's and seller's premiums
- Coronavirus
- Delivery and Shipping
- Education and Training
- Endangered Species
- Events and conferences
- Industry data
- Insurance
- Internet
- Law, crime and regulation
- Museum acquisitions
- Museum deaccessioning
- Obituaries
- Premises and Property
- Price Reporter
- Private Sales
- Recruitment
- Restoration
- TV shows
-
- 1818 Auctioneers
- Adam Partridge
- Adam's
- Addisons
- Ader
- Aguttes
- Alastair Gibson Auctions
- Alcala Subastas
- Aldridges
- Amersham Auction Rooms
- Anderson & Garland
- Andrew Smith & Son
- Anthemion
- AntikBar
- Antony Cribb
- Apollo Art Auctions
- Artcurial
- Arthur Johnson & Sons
- Artvisory
- Aston's
- Aubreys
- Auction Team Breker
- Auctionata
- Auctioneum
- Azca Auctions
- Babuino
- Bainbridge Adam Partridge
- Baldwin's
- Bamfords
- Barbers
- Batemans
- BBR Auctions
- Bearnes Hampton & Littlewood
- Beaussant Lefèvre
- Bellmans
- Bentley’s
- Biddle & Webb
- Bigwood
- Bishop & Miller
- Bleasdales
- Bloomsbury Auctions
- Boldon Auction Galleries
- Bonhams
- Bonhams Skinner
- Bosleys
- Bourne End Auction Rooms
- Brettells
- Brighton General Auctions
- Brightwells
- Bristol Auction Rooms
- Brown & Co
- Bruun Rasmussen
- Burstow & Hewett
- Byrnes
- C&T
- Cambi Casa d'Aste
- Canterbury Auction Galleries
- Capes Dunn
- Catherine Southon
- Cato Crane
- Chalkwell
- Charles Miller
- Charles Ross Auctioneers
- Charterhouse
- Cheffins
- Chilcotts
- Chippenham Auction Rooms
- Chiswick Auctions
- Chorley's
- Christie's
- Clark & Simpson
- Clars Auction Gallery
- Clevedon Salerooms
- Comic Book Auctions
- Cotswold Auction Company
- Cottees
- Cowans
- Criterion
- Crow’s Auctions Gallery
- Curated Auctions
- Cuttlestones
- Czerny
- David Duggleby
- Dawsons
- Denhams
- Dominic Winter
- Dore & Rees
- Dorotheum
- Doyle New York
- Dreweatts
- Duke's
- Durrants
- Eastbourne Auctions
- Eldreds
- Elmwood’s
- Elstob Auctioneers
- Ewbank's
- Featonby's
- Fellows
- Fieldings
- Fine Art Auction Group
- Fine Art Bourse
- Flints Auctioneers
- Fonsie Mealy
- Forum Auctions
- Frank Marshall
- Freeman's
- Gardiner Houlgate
- Gary Don
- George Kidner
- Gerrards Auction Rooms
- Gildings
- Golding Young & Mawer
- Gorringe's
- Graham Budd
- Grand Auctions
- Great Western Auctions
- Greenslade Taylor Hunt
- Gros & Delettrez
- H&H Classics
- Halls Fine Art
- Hampstead Auctions
- Hannam’s
- Hansons
- Harper Field
- Hartleys
- Henry Adams
- Henry Aldridge & Son
- Heritage Auctions
- Hermann Historica
- High Road Auctions
- Hindman
- Holloways
- Holt's
- Hôtel Drouot
- Hotlotz
- Humbert & Ellis
- Hutchinson Scott
- Irita Marriott
- Jacobs & Hunt
- John Nicholson
- John Pye Auctions
- Jones & Jacob
- JS Fine Art
- Jubilee Auction Rooms
- Juliens
- Kerry Taylor
- KettererKunst
- Keys
- Kidson-Trigg
- Kinghams
- Kings Russell
- Knights Auctions
- Knowle Auction Rooms
- Koller
- Lacy Scott & Knight
- Laidlaw
- Lawrences of Bletchingley
- Lawrences of Crewkerne
- Lay’s Auctioneers
- Lempertz
- Leonard Joel
- Lindsay Burns
- Littleton
- Lockdales
- Locke & England
- London Auctions
- Lots Road Auctions
- Louis Taylor
- Lyon & Turnbull
- MacDougall's
- Mallams
- Mander
- Marlows of Stafford
- Martel Maides
- Maxwells
- McTear's
- Mellors & Kirk
- Michael Bowman
- Millon
- Minster Auctions
- Mitchells
- Moore Allen & Innocent
- Morphets
- Morton & Eden
- Mossgreen
- Mulberry Bank Auctions
- Mullock Jones
- Nagel
- Nesbits
- Netherhampton Salerooms
- Nicholas Mellors
- Nigel Ward
- Noble Investments
- Noonans
- Olympia Auctions
- Omega Auctions
- Onslows
- Osenat
- Paddle8
- Parker Fine Art Auctions
- Paul Beighton Saleroom
- PBA Galleries
- Peter Francis
- Philip Serrell
- Phillips
- Piasa
- Pierre Bergé & Associes
- Piers Motley
- Plymouth Auction Rooms
- Potter & Potter
- Potteries Auctions
- Rago Auctions
- Railtons
- Ramsay Cornish
- Reeman Dansie
- Rendells
- Richard Edmonds Auctions
- Richard Winterton
- Ritchies
- RM Sotheby’s
- Rogers Jones
- Roma Numismatics
- Roseberys
- Ross’s of Belfast
- Rowley's
- Rushbrooks
- RWB Auctions
- Ryedale
- Semley
- Sheffield Auction Gallery
- Sheppard’s
- Silverwoods
- Sloane Street Auctions
- Sotheby's
- Sovereign Rarities
- Special Auction Services
- Spicers
- Spink
- St Jamess Auctions
- Staceys
- Stanley Gibbons Group
- Sterling Vault Auctioneers
- StockholmsAuktionsverk
- Stride & Son
- Summers Place Auctions
- Swan Fine Art Auctioneers
- Swann
- Sworders
- Tajan
- Tamlyns
- Tayler and Fletcher
- Taylor's Auctions
- Tennants
- The Pedestal
- Thimbleby & Shorland
- Thomas Del Mar
- Thomas N Miller
- Thomas R Callan
- Thomas Watson
- Thomaston Place
- Thomson Roddick & Medcalf
- Thomson Roddick Scottish Auctions
- Timeline
- Toovey's
- Trevanion
- Truro Auction Centre
- TW Gaze
- Unique Auctions
- Vectis
- Veritas
- W&H Peacock
- Wallis and Wallis
- Warren & Wignall
- Watches of Knightsbridge
- Wellers Auctions
- Wessex Auction Rooms
- Whitton & Laing
- Whittons
- Whytes
- Wilkes & Curtis
- Wilkinson's Auctioneers
- William George & Co
- Wilson55
- Wimbledon Auctions
- Woolley & Wallis
- Wotton Auction Rooms
- Wright Marshall
-
- 1stdibs
- Advertising Standards Authority
- Antiquarian Booksellers Association
- Antique Young Guns
- Antiquities Dealers’ Association
- Art Business Conference
- Art Fund
- Art Loss Register
- Art Recovery International
- Art UK
- Arts Council England
- Assay Office
- Auction Technology Group
- BADA
- BAMF
- CADA
- CINOA
- Company of Arts Scholars
- DACS
- DEFRA
- DMG
- EBay
- Hiscox
- LAPADA
- Lot-tissimo
- National Trust
- NAVA
- Provincial Booksellers Fairs Association
- RICS
- Society of London Art Dealers
- SOFAA
- the saleroom
- Triple-A Auctioneers
-
- Adams Antiques Fairs
- Affordable Art Fair
- Alexandra Palace fair
- Antiques Centres
- Antiques Dealers Fair Limited
- Ardingly Fair
- Armchair Art Fair
- Art & Antiques for Everyone Fair
- Art Antiques London
- Art, Antiques & Interiors Expo
- Arthur Swallow Fairs
- Bath Decorative Antiques Fair
- Battersea Decorative Fair
- Bermondsey Market
- Book Fairs
- BRAFA
- British Art Fair
- Brussels Fairs
- CADA Fair
- Car Boot Fairs
- Clarion Events
- Continuity Fairs
- Cooper Events
- Ephemera fairs
- Fine Art Asia
- Fine Arts Paris
- Firsts
- Florida Fairs
- French Fairs
- Frieze
- Frieze Masters
- Galloway Antiques Fairs
- Harrogate Fairs
- Hatton Garden
- Haughton Fairs
- Hong Kong Fairs
- IACF
- Jaguar Fairs
- LAPADA Fair
- Lincolnshire Antiques and Home Show
- London Original Print Fair
- Masterpiece
- Miami Fairs
- Midcentury Modern
- Modern British Art Fair
- NEC Birmingham
- New York Fairs
- Newark Fair
- Newbury Antiques and Collectors Fair
- Olympia Fair
- PAD London
- Palm Beach Fairs
- Paris Biennale
- Paris Fairs
- Paris Parcours
- Paris Tableau
- Penman Fairs
- Philadelphia Fairs
- Photography fairs
- Regional Fairs
- Salon du Dessin
- Sandown Park Racecourse Fair
- Showground Fairs
- Swinderby Fair
- TEFAF
- The Open Art Fair
- The Treasure House Fair
- Winter Antiques Show
- Works on Paper Fair
-
- Alfred Taubman
- Bendor Grosvenor
- Bill Ruprecht
- Charles Hanson
- Charlie Ross
- Cornelius Gurlitt
- David Lester
- Ed Dolman
- Eric Knowles
- François Pinault
- Ingrid Nilson
- Lennox Cato
- Lord Ashcroft
- Marco Forgione
- Mark Law
- Sheikh Saud Bin Mohammed Al-Thani
- Simon de Pury
- Sue Ede
- Tad Smith
- Tim Goodman
- Victoria Borwick
-
- Abbott and Holder
- Agnews
- Alastair Dickenson
- Andrew Sim
- Blairman
- Carter Marsh
- Colnaghi
- Daniel Katz
- Dickinson
- Fabrizio Moretti
- Ian Towning
- Johnny Van Haeften
- London Silver Vaults
- Mallett
- Marchant
- Mark Weiss
- Partridge Fine Art
- Petworth Antiques Dealers
- Philip Mould
- Pimlico Road Dealers
- Richard Green
- Robert Young
- Roger Keverne
- Rupert Maas
- SJ Phillips
- Wartski
-
- A Lawyer Writes
- Around the Auction Houses
- Art Market
- Auction Reports
- Bid Barometer
- Books and Works on Paper
- Dealers' Diary
- Fairs, Markets, Shops and Centres
- Features
- Front Page and News
- International (print edition)
- Interviews
- Letters to the Editor
- News in Brief
- Obituaries (print edition)
- Opinion
- Pick of the Week
- Precious Metals Prices
- Previews
- Soapbox
- Special Reports
- Then & Now