Portrait Photography for Sale
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What we remember, what we pray 2
Giana De Dier
Photography - 25 x 20 x 1 cm Photography - 9.8 x 7.9 x 0.4 inch
£1,068
What we remembered, what we prayed 6
Giana De Dier
Photography - 25 x 20 x 1 cm Photography - 9.8 x 7.9 x 0.4 inch
£1,068
Gwen Stefani - Anaheim Pond, Anaheim, CA II
Michael Grecco
Photography - 50.8 x 40.6 x 5.1 cm Photography - 20 x 16 x 2 inch
£2,459
Gwen Stefani - Anaheim Pond, Anaheim, CA
Michael Grecco
Photography - 50.8 x 40.6 x 5.1 cm Photography - 20 x 16 x 2 inch
£2,459
Quentin Tarantino - Hollywood Grill, Los Angeles, CA
Michael Grecco
Photography - 50.8 x 40.6 x 5.1 cm Photography - 20 x 16 x 2 inch
£2,459
Johnny Cash - Tennessee
Michael Grecco
Photography - 50.8 x 40.6 x 5.1 cm Photography - 20 x 16 x 2 inch
£2,459
Michael Jackson - LA Sports Arena, Los Angeles, CA (II)
Michael Grecco
Photography - 50.8 x 40.6 x 5.1 cm Photography - 20 x 16 x 2 inch
£2,459
Michael Jackson - LA Sports Arena, Los Angeles, CA
Michael Grecco
Photography - 50.8 x 40.6 x 5.1 cm Photography - 20 x 16 x 2 inch
£2,459
Bob Marley at Berkshire Music Glen, (III)
Michael Grecco
Photography - 40.6 x 50.8 x 5.1 cm Photography - 16 x 20 x 2 inch
£2,459
Bob Marley at Berkshire Music Glen, (II)
Michael Grecco
Photography - 40.6 x 50.8 x 5.1 cm Photography - 16 x 20 x 2 inch
£2,459
William Macy - Poses for a Portrait on the Set of The Con - Los Angeles, CA
Michael Grecco
Photography - 50.8 x 40.6 x 5.1 cm Photography - 20 x 16 x 2 inch
£2,459
Bobby Simmons
Michael Grecco
Photography - 50.8 x 40.6 x 5.1 cm Photography - 20 x 16 x 2 inch
£2,459
David Byrne of the Talking Heads
Michael Grecco
Photography - 50.8 x 40.6 x 5.1 cm Photography - 20 x 16 x 2 inch
£2,459
James Caan on the Set of Vegas - Los Angeles, CA
Michael Grecco
Photography - 50.8 x 40.6 x 5.1 cm Photography - 20 x 16 x 2 inch
£2,459
Jolene Blalock
Michael Grecco
Photography - 50.8 x 40.6 x 5.1 cm Photography - 20 x 16 x 2 inch
£2,459
Lucy Liu - Holmby Hills, CA III
Michael Grecco
Photography - 50.8 x 40.6 x 5.1 cm Photography - 20 x 16 x 2 inch
£2,459
Jet Li - Los Angeles, California
Michael Grecco
Photography - 50.8 x 40.6 x 5.1 cm Photography - 20 x 16 x 2 inch
£2,459
Dwight Yoakam - San Antonio, Texas
Michael Grecco
Photography - 50.8 x 40.6 x 5.1 cm Photography - 20 x 16 x 2 inch
£2,459
Mel Brooks - Los Angeles, CA
Michael Grecco
Photography - 50.8 x 40.6 x 5.1 cm Photography - 20 x 16 x 2 inch
£2,459
The Cramps lead guitarist Poison Ivy (II)
Michael Grecco
Photography - 50.8 x 40.6 x 5.1 cm Photography - 20 x 16 x 2 inch
£2,459
Nick Lowe and Elliot Easton of The Cars - Boston, MA
Michael Grecco
Photography - 40.6 x 50.8 x 5.1 cm Photography - 16 x 20 x 2 inch
£2,459
Affair Of The Diamond Necklace (S)
Tyler Shields
Photography - 57.2 x 76.2 cm Photography - 22.5 x 30 inch
£4,099
Umbrella Silhouette II (S)
Tyler Shields
Photography - 57.2 x 76.2 cm Photography - 22.5 x 30 inch
£4,099
Charles X - La coopérative de Mai - Clermont-Ferrand 2016 - Les Nuits Zébrées de Nova
Lucas Perrigot
Photography - 59.4 x 84.1 x 0.1 cm Photography - 23.4 x 33.1 x 0 inch
£507
Malcolm X during his visit to enterprises owned by Black Muslims.
Eve Arnold
Photography - 40.6 x 30.5 x 5.1 cm Photography - 16 x 12 x 2 inch
£1,926
USA. Nevada and California. The Misfits, a film by John HUSTON. 1960 VI
Eve Arnold
Photography - 40.6 x 30.5 x 5.1 cm Photography - 16 x 12 x 2 inch
£1,926
USA. NYC. Marilyn Monroe.
Eve Arnold
Photography - 30.5 x 40.6 x 5.1 cm Photography - 12 x 16 x 2 inch
£1,926
USA. Marilyn Monroe (USA). Actress & singer
Eve Arnold
Photography - 30.5 x 40.6 x 5.1 cm Photography - 12 x 16 x 2 inch
£1,926
USA. Nevada and California.The Misfits, a film by John HUSTON.
Eve Arnold
Photography - 40.6 x 30.5 x 5.1 cm Photography - 16 x 12 x 2 inch
£1,926
USA. Los Angeles. Joan CRAWFORD (USA), Actress.
Eve Arnold
Photography - 30.5 x 40.6 x 5.1 cm Photography - 12 x 16 x 2 inch
£1,926
USA. Illinois. Bement. US actress Marilyn Monroe during a public appearance.
Eve Arnold
Photography - 30.5 x 40.6 x 5.1 cm Photography - 12 x 16 x 2 inch
£1,926
Marilyn Monroe, USA
Eve Arnold
Photography - 30.5 x 40.6 x 5.1 cm Photography - 12 x 16 x 2 inch
£1,926
USA. Nevada. Reno. Marilyn Monroe on the set of The Misfits by John HUSTON
Eve Arnold
Photography - 40.6 x 30.5 x 5.1 cm Photography - 16 x 12 x 2 inch
£1,926
Mikhail Baryshnikov, American Ballet Theatre - NYC
Eve Arnold
Photography - 40.6 x 30.5 x 5.1 cm Photography - 16 x 12 x 2 inch
£1,926
Spain. Mallorca. Anthony QUINN and Anna KARINA on the set of Guy Green's The Magus.
Eve Arnold
Photography - 30.5 x 40.6 x 5.1 cm Photography - 12 x 16 x 2 inch
£1,926
New York, Model, Drusilla Dru Beyfus.
Eve Arnold
Photography - 30.5 x 40.6 x 5.1 cm Photography - 12 x 16 x 2 inch
£1,926
Sylvana Mangano (ITA), at the Museum of Modern Art, USA
Eve Arnold
Photography - 30.5 x 40.6 x 5.1 cm Photography - 12 x 16 x 2 inch
£1,926
GB. Shepperton. Film Set Becket, Elizabeth Taylor & Richard Burton
Eve Arnold
Photography - 30.5 x 40.6 x 5.1 cm Photography - 12 x 16 x 2 inch
£1,926
John and Angelica Huston (USA). 1968
Eve Arnold
Photography - 40.6 x 30.5 x 5.1 cm Photography - 16 x 12 x 2 inch
£1,926
USA. Nevada. US actress Marilyn Monroe on the set of The Misfits by John HUSTON.
Eve Arnold
Photography - 40.6 x 30.5 x 5.1 cm Photography - 16 x 12 x 2 inch
£1,926
USA. NYC. Black is Beautiful.
Eve Arnold
Photography - 30.5 x 40.6 x 5.1 cm Photography - 12 x 16 x 2 inch
£1,926
USA. Nevada and California. The Misfits, a film by John HUSTON. 1960 V
Eve Arnold
Photography - 30.5 x 40.6 x 5.1 cm Photography - 12 x 16 x 2 inch
£1,926
UAE. Dubai. Behind the Veil. II
Eve Arnold
Photography - 40.6 x 30.5 x 5.1 cm Photography - 16 x 12 x 2 inch
£1,926
UAE. Dubai. Behind the Veil.
Eve Arnold
Photography - 40.6 x 30.5 x 5.1 cm Photography - 16 x 12 x 2 inch
£1,926
USA. New York. American actress Marlene Dietrich.
Eve Arnold
Photography - 40.6 x 30.5 x 5.1 cm Photography - 16 x 12 x 2 inch
£1,926
James Brown; singer, being interviewed after a concert in the Apollo in Harlem where the slogan Black is Beautiful was introduced.
Eve Arnold
Photography - 40.6 x 30.5 x 5.1 cm Photography - 16 x 12 x 2 inch
£1,926
Isabella Rosellini during the filming of White Nights - Finland
Eve Arnold
Photography - 40.6 x 30.5 x 5.1 cm Photography - 16 x 12 x 2 inch
£1,926
Marilyn MONROE on the set of The Misfits - USA, Nevada, Reno
Eve Arnold
Photography - 40.6 x 30.5 x 5.1 cm Photography - 16 x 12 x 2 inch
£1,926
Sophia Loren with Charles Chaplin - GB. England . Film: Countess from Hong Kong.
Eve Arnold
Photography - 40.6 x 30.5 x 5.1 cm Photography - 16 x 12 x 2 inch
£1,926
Charlotte Stribling. USA. New York City USA.
Eve Arnold
Photography - 40.6 x 30.5 x 5.1 cm Photography - 16 x 12 x 2 inch
£1,926
USA. Nevada and California. The Misfits, a film by John HUSTON. 1960 III
Eve Arnold
Photography - 40.6 x 30.5 x 5.1 cm Photography - 16 x 12 x 2 inch
£1,926
USA. Nevada and California. The Misfits, a film by John HUSTON. 1960 II
Eve Arnold
Photography - 40.6 x 30.5 x 5.1 cm Photography - 16 x 12 x 2 inch
£1,926
USA. Arizona. James Stewart on the set of The flight of the phoenix.
Eve Arnold
Photography - 40.6 x 30.5 x 5.1 cm Photography - 16 x 12 x 2 inch
£1,926
Betwixt Between
Brooke Shaden
Photography - 50 x 50 x 0.1 cm Photography - 19.7 x 19.7 x 0 inch
£2,136
Owen Wilson and Ben Stiller Pose for a Portrait to Promote their Film 'Starsky & Hutch' - Los Angeles, CA 2004
Michael Grecco
Photography - 40.6 x 50.8 x 5.1 cm Photography - 16 x 20 x 2 inch
£2,459
Carmen Electra - Los Angeles, California 1998 II
Michael Grecco
Photography - 50.8 x 40.6 x 5.1 cm Photography - 20 x 16 x 2 inch
£2,459
Will Ferrell (II) - Los Angeles, CA 2007
Michael Grecco
Photography - 50.8 x 40.6 x 5.1 cm Photography - 20 x 16 x 2 inch
£2,459
Will Ferrell - Los Angeles, CA 2007
Michael Grecco
Photography - 50.8 x 40.6 x 5.1 cm Photography - 20 x 16 x 2 inch
£2,459
Martin Scorsese - 2006
Michael Grecco
Photography - 40.6 x 50.8 x 5.1 cm Photography - 16 x 20 x 2 inch
£2,459
Jane Monheit - New York, US 2003 (IV)
Michael Grecco
Photography - 50.8 x 40.6 x 5.1 cm Photography - 20 x 16 x 2 inch
£2,459
Lucy Liu - Holmby Hills, CA 1999
Michael Grecco
Photography - 40.6 x 50.8 x 5.1 cm Photography - 16 x 20 x 2 inch
£2,459
Owen Wilson and Ben Stiller Pose for a Portrait to Promote their Film 'Starsky & Hutch' - Los Angeles, CA 2004 (II)
Michael Grecco
Photography - 40.6 x 50.8 x 5.1 cm Photography - 16 x 20 x 2 inch
£2,459
Penelope Cruz and Pedro Almodóvar - 2006
Michael Grecco
Photography - 50.8 x 40.6 x 5.1 cm Photography - 20 x 16 x 2 inch
£2,459
Steven Spielberg - Cover of Time magazine, 2005
Michael Grecco
Photography - 50.8 x 40.6 x 5.1 cm Photography - 20 x 16 x 2 inch
£2,459
Jane Monheit, 2003
Michael Grecco
Photography - 50.8 x 40.6 x 5.1 cm Photography - 20 x 16 x 2 inch
£2,459
Jane Monheit - New York, US 2003 (II)
Michael Grecco
Photography - 50.8 x 40.6 x 5.1 cm Photography - 20 x 16 x 2 inch
£2,459
Joaquin Phoenix - Los Angeles, CA 2002
Michael Grecco
Photography - 40.6 x 50.8 x 5.1 cm Photography - 16 x 20 x 2 inch
£2,459
Joaquin Phoenix - Los Angeles, CA 2002
Michael Grecco
Photography - 50.8 x 40.6 x 5.1 cm Photography - 20 x 16 x 2 inch
£2,459
Lucy Liu - Holmby Hills, CA 1999 II
Michael Grecco
Photography - 40.6 x 50.8 x 5.1 cm Photography - 16 x 20 x 2 inch
£2,459
Steve Martin 2007
Michael Grecco
Photography - 40.6 x 50.8 x 5.1 cm Photography - 16 x 20 x 2 inch
£2,459
The Fabulous Billygoons, Boston, MA, 1980
Michael Grecco
Photography - 40.6 x 50.8 x 5.1 cm Photography - 16 x 20 x 2 inch
£2,459
Siouxsie and the Banshees, Steven Severin, and Budgie - Boston, Massachusetts Circa 1980
Michael Grecco
Photography - 40.6 x 50.8 x 5.1 cm Photography - 16 x 20 x 2 inch
£2,459
Lene Lovich - Boston, Massachusetts Circa 1980
Michael Grecco
Photography - 50.8 x 40.6 x 5.1 cm Photography - 20 x 16 x 2 inch
£2,459
Jolene Blalock - 2002 II
Michael Grecco
Photography - 50.8 x 40.6 x 5.1 cm Photography - 20 x 16 x 2 inch
£2,459
La Peste (L- R) Peter Dayton, Mark Karl, and Roger Tripp - Boston, Massachusetts, 1980
Michael Grecco
Photography - 50.8 x 40.6 x 5.1 cm Photography - 20 x 16 x 2 inch
£2,459
Discover the styles & movements
Discover the selection of our experts
Portrait Photography for Sale
In the 1830s, Nièpce discovered the process for setting images onto pewter plates. In 1833, upon Nièpce's death, Louis Daguerre and François Arago continued his experiments and invented the daguerreotype, a process which created a printed image on a silver plate that had been exposed to light. Photography was born.
Similarly to how portrait painting had dominated artistic output in previous centuries, portrait photography was to become the pillar of the Second French Empire's photographic industry. Lenses with a shorter focal length, which enabled reduced exposure times, gradually appear on the market. The required equipment was expensive and difficult to handle. Some photographers, called daguerreotypists, decided to open their own photography studios to make a profit from their endeavours. The daguerreotype process was temperamental, and photographers had to take their pictures with great precision and attention to detail. They welcomed many people into their studios and customers choose how they wished to be photographed from catalogue of poses. Originally only accessible to the bourgeoisie, lower prices resulting from the growing number of studios eventually attracted a wider customer base. This phenomenon infuriated the poet Charles Baudelaire who was frustrated by the sense of narcissism sparked by the daguerreotypists.
Despite his protests, the egotistical trend only grew with the emergence of 'carte de visite' portraits (small photographs, the size of today's business cards). These were the brainchild of Adolphe Eugène Disdéri came up with the idea of producing portraits akin to visiting cards in 1859. He printed eight portraits in a variety of poses onto a single plate and once developed they could be cut up into eight distinct “visiting cards". Very popular with the bourgeoisie, they highlighted the sitters' social status. 'Carte de visite' portraits featuring celebrities were also sold to customers, who could subsequently add them to their albums.
The photographer Nadar was one of the first to demonstrate a conscious artistic approach to producing these portraits. He emphasised facial expressions and ensured the sitter was comfortable and at ease before taking the photograph. He photographed the era's greatest thinkers and artists, including Honoré de Balzac, George Sand, and Victor Hugo. He even managed to reconcile Baudelaire with portraiture.
At the end of the 19th century, the art of photography started to enter the mainstream, with the arrival of the Kodak company. The use of the camera, and the taking of portraits, became everyday occurrences. A century later, it was the invention of the digital camera which challenged the status quo. Whereas before alterations could only be made to photographs when they were being taken or developed, with the digital camera editing became easier, quicker and more convenient. Digital photography has given photographers much more freedom when it comes to editing and new methods and techniques are constantly being explored.
Some of the photographers who have left their mark on the last century include: Cindy Sherman, who excelled in self-portraits, Annie Leibovitz, who captured celebrities, the wacky duo, Pierre and Gilles, as well as Diane Arbus, Irving Penn, Richard Avedon, Helmut Newton and Bettina Rheims.
So, do portraits help us to learn more about each other, to remember, to invent, to act, or to reconnect with ourselves? Find out on Artsper, by exploring the works of Formento & Formento, Naomi Vona, Ahmed Bennani, Chou Ching Hui, Samuel Cueto, Brno del Zou, Ren Hang, Markus + Indrani, Jerome Liebling as well as Annina Roescheisen.
A portrait photograph can be a photograph of a person's head and shoulders, but it can also be of an animal or of a different section of the subject's body such as their feet. Portrait photographs in art often tell or hint something about its subject to the viewer, such as an aspect of their personality, but still contain an element of mystery.
The three major types of portrait photography are posed portraits, candid or anonymous portraits, and conceptual portraits. The last type, conceptual or creative portraits, can be experimental and abstract, and may not represent an image close to a traditional portrait.
The six main types of portrait photography are fine art portraits, traditional portraits (for example posed portraits taken at school), lifestyle portraits, group portraits, street portraits and glamour portraits.