srsincary Loc: Cary, NC

nervous2 Loc: Provo, Utah

Gives me hope that I could yet be successful as a pro photographer.

kpmac Loc: Ragley, La

Once again subjectivity rears its ugly head. I might have paid 15-20 dollars for the pair.

bikinkawboy Loc: north central Missouri

You must really like them. I wouldn’t pay that much. Yes they are interesting but I’ve seen photos posted on this site that I was more impressed with.

BigDaddy Loc: Pittsburgh, PA

I'd pay the $20 if I really liked the frames, then I could toss the pics and put my own great photo's in the frames.

Really, I think a LOT of art is really more money laundering schemes than anything else. Not saying these are that, but unless I plan on using someone else's photo in a composition with one of MY photo's, I've no use for someone else's photographs.

St.Mary's

Hell, you can photograph my butt with a guitar pick glued to it, for a tenth of that cost.

sippyjug104 Loc: Missouri

I've done some nude photography, however, the police told me to put my clothes back on and my court date comes up soon.😜

St.Mary's

Sippyjug104-----And what about all the people that went blind looking at your nude body. Remember if you will, the greatest deterrence against sex after age 70, is nudity.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

I never appreciated this particular expression of Man Ray's clever, corny sexism.

The Flatiron photo is nice, but making it such an object of rarity and desire is illogical.

In a just world, Ray and Steichen would have been able to reap such rewards during their lifetimes! But alas, art auctions are seldom about the art or the artists!

The art world in general is often more concerned about creating illusions of value for wealthy investors to exploit than it is about the art itself.

When a work sells at a charity auction, that's a worthy cause. When it sells for the benefit of a seller who makes an obscene profit, that's just selfish business.

Fotoartist Loc: Detroit, Michigan

Man Ray intended his photo to be corny but he did it first. That's important. Warhol and countless artists followed in his footsteps.

You say the art world creates "illusions of value"? What does the Federal Reserve do when it creates money? Does paper money have intrinsic value? Apparently a lot of people are prepared to trade one illusion of value for another.

And what will hold its value longer if you buy a car for $50K as opposed to buying a valuable piece of artwork for the same amount?

bikinkawboy Loc: north central Missouri

As for perceived value, it’s known that cattle breeding stock producers will pull that scheme. Bill pays Joe $50,000 for a bull and Joe pays Bill $50,000 for a different bull. They exchange checks but in essence, they simply trade bulls with neither one profiting. That is, until I go buy a young bull from Bill and you buy a young bull from Joe. Both Bill and Joe can truthfully tell you that their young bull’s daddy cost $50,000 (they can show you a photo copy of the check) and they are giving you a bargain and a favor by letting you buy the offspring for “only” $20,000. The sellers aren’t lying, but rather skewing the truth in their favor.

It’s just a way of ramping up the perceived value of something. Those photos could be the same. I’m sure the value of other Man Ray photos will or have gone up only because of the one high dollar sale.

Also, any time a seller shows you a framed copy of the bill of sale or check pertaining to what you are buying, you’d best walk away.