Melbourne Silver Mine

A post-Unsensored11 lament

Andreas Gursky's Rhein II, one of an edition of six, set the record in November 2011 as the most expensive photograph ever sold. Photograph: Andreas Gursky/Christie's

As the UK’s Guardian newspaper reported in November 2011, “a sludgy image of the grey Rhine under grey skies” sold at auction in New York for $4,338,500 (including buyer’s premium). This sale of Andreas Gursky’s Rhein II makes it the world’s most expensive photograph, surpassing the previous record holder, Cindy Sherman’s self-portrait Untitled #96, which sold at Christie’s earlier in 2011 for $3,890,500. For your common or garden-variety photographer, attaching such extraordinary monetary value to these photographs seems a little absurd. In fact, many garden-variety photographers will shake their head, cry silently into their respective caffeinated beverage(s) and hope that one day they will sell a print to someone who is not a family member. Alas we’re not at the Collingwood Gallery any more, Toto – this is the global contemporary art scene and it’s a $12 million stuffed shark none of us can possibly hope to understand.
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