Portrait Photography for Sale
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Waiting for the drums
James Sparshatt
Photography - 40 x 50 x 0.1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 19.7 x 0 inch
€728
La dama de la plaza
James Sparshatt
Photography - 35 x 35 x 1 cm Photography - 13.8 x 13.8 x 0.4 inch
€850
Pow wow. Amérique du nord
Dominique Leroy
Photography - 70 x 90 x 2 cm Photography - 27.6 x 35.4 x 0.8 inch
€1,400
Mon beau miroir. Femme Mursi. Ethiopie
Dominique Leroy
Photography - 70 x 90 x 2 cm Photography - 27.6 x 35.4 x 0.8 inch
€1,400
Dans mes bras, 'Souvenirs rêvés'
Jean-Robert Franco
Photography - 70 x 100 cm Photography - 27.6 x 39.4 inch
€1,500
Sans titre 51
Bruno Fournier
Photography - 46 x 30 x 1 cm Photography - 18.1 x 11.8 x 0.4 inch
€1,100
Sans titre 49
Bruno Fournier
Photography - 46 x 30 x 1 cm Photography - 18.1 x 11.8 x 0.4 inch
€1,100
Femme masquée 7
Bruno Fournier
Photography - 80 x 80 x 1 cm Photography - 31.5 x 31.5 x 0.4 inch
€1,600
Femme masquée 6
Bruno Fournier
Photography - 80 x 80 x 1 cm Photography - 31.5 x 31.5 x 0.4 inch
€1,600 €1,440
Femme masquée 5
Bruno Fournier
Photography - 80 x 80 x 1 cm Photography - 31.5 x 31.5 x 0.4 inch
€1,600
Femme masquée 4
Bruno Fournier
Photography - 80 x 80 x 1 cm Photography - 31.5 x 31.5 x 0.4 inch
€1,700
Femme masquée 3
Bruno Fournier
Photography - 80 x 80 x 1 cm Photography - 31.5 x 31.5 x 0.4 inch
€1,600
femme masquée II
Bruno Fournier
Photography - 80 x 80 x 1 cm Photography - 31.5 x 31.5 x 0.4 inch
€1,600
Sans titre 3
Bruno Fournier
Photography - 60 x 90 x 3 cm Photography - 23.6 x 35.4 x 1.2 inch
€1,200
Yoko Ono in black ribbed sweater, Central Park, NY 1973
Bob Gruen
Photography - 61 x 50.8 x 5.1 cm Photography - 24 x 20 x 2 inch
€2,386
Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, MSG, NYC 1972
Bob Gruen
Photography - 50.8 x 61 x 5.1 cm Photography - 20 x 24 x 2 inch
€2,386
Mick Jagger, MSG, NYC 1972
Bob Gruen
Photography - 50.8 x 61 x 5.1 cm Photography - 20 x 24 x 2 inch
€2,386
Mick Jagger, NYC 1972
Bob Gruen
Photography - 61 x 50.8 x 5.1 cm Photography - 24 x 20 x 2 inch
€2,386
Patti Smith & Lou Reed, Ocean Club, NYC 1976
Bob Gruen
Photography - 61 x 50.8 x 5.1 cm Photography - 24 x 20 x 2 inch
€2,386
Sid Vicious, Memphis, 1978
Bob Gruen
Photography - 50.8 x 61 x 5.1 cm Photography - 20 x 24 x 2 inch
€2,386
John Lennon wearing Rockerciser shirt, Hit Factory, NYC
Bob Gruen
Photography - 50.8 x 61 x 5.1 cm Photography - 20 x 24 x 2 inch
€2,864
Prince, Rio De Janeiro 1991
Bob Gruen
Photography - 61 x 50.8 x 5.1 cm Photography - 24 x 20 x 2 inch
€2,864
John Lennon wearing a beige suit, Untermyer Park, Yonkers, NY 1975
Bob Gruen
Photography - 50.8 x 61 x 5.1 cm Photography - 20 x 24 x 2 inch
€2,864
Yoko Ono and John Lennon holding flowers by a tree, Central Park, NYC 1973
Bob Gruen
Photography - 50.8 x 61 x 5.1 cm Photography - 20 x 24 x 2 inch
€2,864
Sid Vicious, I'm a Mess, San Antonio 1978
Bob Gruen
Photography - 61 x 50.8 x 5.1 cm Photography - 24 x 20 x 2 inch
€2,864
John Lennon, Mick Jagger and Yoko Ono, Record Plant, NYC 1972
Bob Gruen
Photography - 50.8 x 61 x 5.1 cm Photography - 20 x 24 x 2 inch
€2,386
Johnny Rotten & Sid Vicious, Europe, 1977
Bob Gruen
Photography - 50.8 x 61 x 5.1 cm Photography - 20 x 24 x 2 inch
€2,386
Jon Bon Jovi, Moscow 1989
Bob Gruen
Photography - 61 x 50.8 x 5.1 cm Photography - 24 x 20 x 2 inch
€2,386
John Lennon contact sheet, NYC 1975
Bob Gruen
Photography - 61 x 50.8 x 5.1 cm Photography - 24 x 20 x 2 inch
€2,386
Joe Strummer and Gaby, NYC, 1981
Bob Gruen
Photography - 50.8 x 61 x 5.1 cm Photography - 20 x 24 x 2 inch
€2,386
John Lennon sitting at cafe in Yonkers, NYC 1975
Bob Gruen
Photography - 50.8 x 61 x 5.1 cm Photography - 20 x 24 x 2 inch
€2,864
Bernie Taupin and Elton John, NYC 1971
Bob Gruen
Photography - 50.8 x 61 x 5.1 cm Photography - 20 x 24 x 2 inch
€2,386
Bob Gruen, NYC, 1980
Bob Gruen
Photography - 50.8 x 61 x 5.1 cm Photography - 20 x 24 x 2 inch
€2,386
Clash & Bo Diddley, Agora Ballroom, Cleveland OH, 1979
Bob Gruen
Photography - 50.8 x 61 x 5.1 cm Photography - 20 x 24 x 2 inch
€2,386
Black Sabbath NYC 1971
Bob Gruen
Photography - 50.8 x 61 x 5.1 cm Photography - 20 x 24 x 2 inch
€2,386
Renaissance woman 1
Léo Caillard
Photography - 120 x 90 x 1 cm Photography - 47.2 x 35.4 x 0.4 inch
€3,800
1915 BRIGITTE au foulard
Eugène Druet
Photography - 54 x 43 cm Photography - 21.3 x 16.9 inch
€1,450
White trash beautiful I (29 Palms, CA)
Stefanie Schneider
Photography - 60 x 59 x 0.1 cm Photography - 23.6 x 23.2 x 0 inch
€2,000
Eternal Recurrence #63, Photo collage with intervention by the artist
Natasha Zupan
Photography - 151.1 x 121.9 x 0.3 cm Photography - 59.5 x 48 x 0.1 inch
€5,727
Love, Light & Lines (Vol.4)
Kamal Obat
Photography - 60 x 49.8 x 2.5 cm Photography - 23.62 x 19.6 x 1 inch
€430
Love, Light & Lines (Vol.2)
Kamal Obat
Photography - 60 x 49.8 x 2.5 cm Photography - 23.62 x 19.6 x 1 inch
€430
Love, Light & Lines
Kamal Obat
Photography - 60 x 49.8 x 2.5 cm Photography - 23.62 x 19.6 x 1 inch
€430
Keith Richards
John Rowlands
Photography - 40.6 x 50.8 x 5.1 cm Photography - 16 x 20 x 2 inch
€1,289
Défilé Mugler - Zénith 84
Pierre Terrasson
Photography - 50 x 40 x 0.1 cm Photography - 19.7 x 15.7 x 0 inch
€1,500
Electric Ball Room - London 83
Pierre Terrasson
Photography - 40 x 50 x 0.1 cm Photography - 15.7 x 19.7 x 0 inch
€1,400
Marilyn Relaxes in A Hotel Room
Ed Feingersh
Photography - 76 x 51 x 0.1 cm Photography - 29.9 x 20.1 x 0 inch
€890
Annie Lennox - Eurythmics
Pierre Terrasson
Photography - 40 x 50 cm Photography - 15.7 x 19.7 inch
€1,400
Cheveux d'encre photo
Feng Kaixuan
Photography - 30 x 45 x 1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 17.7 x 0.4 inch
€700
Cheveux d'Encre Premier jour
Feng Kaixuan
Photography - 30 x 45 x 1 cm Photography - 11.8 x 17.7 x 0.4 inch
€720
All Night Food - Limited Edition Archival Pigment Print
Alain Le Garsmeur
Photography - 50 x 76 x 0.1 cm Photography - 19.7 x 29.9 x 0 inch
€665
Frash-a-Dash
Maisha Marshallende
Photography - 60 x 40 x 1 cm Photography - 23.6 x 15.7 x 0.4 inch
€800
Himba children tree master
Faie Davis
Photography - 61 x 51 x 0.1 cm Photography - 24 x 20.1 x 0 inch
€1,336
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.