However, this was not Gursky’s first record-breaking photograph. In 2006 his ‘99 Cent II Diptychon’ reached $3.35 million, proving that his perspective— however ordinary and void of meaning an image may appear to be at first glance— is sending his work’s value steadily skywards and earning Gursky a reputation as one of the most influential photographer of our age.
Born in 1955 in what was then East Germany, Gursky’s relationship with photography seemed predestined. Both his father and grandfather were masters of the camera and, though he resisted for several years, the younger Gursky eventually followed suit. Rather than follow an entirely commercial path however, Gursky saw an opportunity to enter the broader world of art.
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