Photography is certainly to be considered among the most modern arts but not always recognized as such, it has often been compared to something intermediate between technique and art until it was understood that it could be a fair investment and above all without too much risk. Its fascination with immortalizing the moment or the person has always been the reason that led many people to specialize in this area. If we talk about photography as a collector's item or investment we have to distinguish two areas, the first concerns historical photography, i.e. photography made between the 800s and the mid-900s, characterized by images printed on photographic paper often with silver salts, and the second, where the photograph becomes a work reworked by the artist, who may not even be a photographer.
Starting from the great photographers we can say that they belong to the first category, names such as: Imogen Cunningham (1883-1976), Carleton E. Watking (1829-1916), Tina Modotti (1896-1942), and to follow…Ansel Adam (1902 -1984), Irvin Penn (1917- 2009), Henri Cartier Bresson (1908-2004), Lillian Bassman (1935-2009), These and others are recognized above all for the period and the historical-cultural-social context in which they lived . Often these are unique photographs or at most a few authenticated copies which on the market range from 3-4 thousand dollars up to a few hundreds, if they are particular works or, as often happens, belonged to the collections of some well-known personalities.
Others are the photographs considered for an evident artistic expression, see Andreas Serrano (1950) known for his photos of corpses, Vera Lutter (1960) recognizable for his black and white details, Helmut Newton (1920-2004) for the shots in the fashion world, Richard Avedon (1923-2004)
Sebastiao Salgado (1944) with photos of strong social impact, Steve McCurry (1950) famous for the Afghan girl.
Furthermore, there are photographers who, due to their technique and type of work, are also included in contemporary art catalogues, as in the case of Vik Muniz, a Brazilian artist who constructs the "shot" starting from a composition of a different nature, such as the construction of images of “celebrities” with diamonds. From here then the shot in six/nine specimens.
or in the "pigment" series by reconstructing the images of great painters such as Monet and his japonaise with pieces of paper.
Photography is a way to be discovered, but how much is it worth collecting and how much is it worth investing?
First of all, rely on auction houses or important galleries, where a certificate and note of the purchase is always issued, this already guarantees that the work is not a copy, other than the authentic ones. Secondly, if it is a first approach to this sector, it is better to buy works by the most loved artists, and therefore once you decide to resell, you have a wider audience than those photographers, albeit known, for example Serrano, which has only one specific collection.
Works by Newton, rather than Penn, are clearly in the collective imagination and therefore easier to relocate. But for a first investment from 2 to 5 thousand dollars, I would not exclude many others, such as IMRE KINSZKI, ABELARDO MORELL, ADAM FUSS, KYUNG SOO KIM, HARRY CORY WRIGHT, NOBUYOSHI ARAKI, to then move on to higher values from 10 to 30 thousand dollars : TODD HIDO, KAZUYOSHI USUI, FREDERICK SOMMER, RUUD VAN EMPEL, and over $30: MARIO TESTINO, STEVEN KLEIN, DESIREE DOLRON, ROBERT MAPPLETHORPE, PETER BEARD.
Once you decide to collect "photographs" it is important to follow the international awards that mark the value of the work of the chosen artist. If the artist does not rise in value on the market for a period, it is better to decide with specialists when it will be time to divest.
