A record-setting sale

Whether you're using the most humble point-and-shoot camera or the latest multi-megapixel monster, you might want to keep clicking that shutter. A 1904 color photograph made by Edward Steichen recently sold at auction for $2.9 million.

A pioneer in early color work, Steichen's best-known images were made in black and white. These included advertising and commercial work. As a magazine photographer, he also produced portraits of celebrities during the 1920s and 1930s.

Steichen was the influential curator of photography at the Museum of Modern Art in New York from 1947 to 1962. His most noted accomplishment in photography came while in that position, in 1955, when he organized the large exhibition (and book) The Family of Man.

More information about Steichen, and samples of his work, can be found at the Masters of Photography link (top right) on this page.

For a look at The Pond-Moonlight, the photograph that set the photo auction record, see the story (link below) at the BBC News site.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4715106.stm