Is This Photograph Worth $1 Million or $200? Learn How #sothebys Finds Out

Why It Matters

Scientific authentication validates the print’s million‑dollar valuation and raises industry standards for provenance verification, influencing future art‑market pricing.

Key Takeaways

• Scientific methods authenticate Edward Steichen’s 1908 gum dichromate print.
• Visual, microscopic, and XRF analyses reveal hand‑coated paper characteristics.
• Chromium detection confirms gum dichromate process, distinguishing from gelatin prints.
• Proven authenticity supports auction valuation exceeding one million dollars.
• Multi‑disciplinary testing sets new standard for art‑market due diligence.

Summary

The video follows a Sotheby’s team in Long Island City as they apply scientific techniques to verify an early‑print photograph by Edward Steichen titled “Balzac, The Open Sky” (1908). The goal is to determine whether the work merits a seven‑figure auction price or merely a few hundred dollars.

First, experts conduct visual analysis under raking light, spotting horizontal brush‑stroke patterns that indicate hand‑coated paper—a hallmark of the gum dichromate process. Next, an industrial‑grade microscope magnifies the surface, revealing paper fibers and the artist’s hand‑applied light‑sensitive layer. Finally, X‑ray fluorescence (XRF) spectroscopy measures elemental composition, detecting calcium, iron, lead and a prominent chromium peak, the latter confirming the dichromate sensitizer.

The team highlights the signature’s clarity and the “green” chromium signal as decisive evidence that the print is indeed a gum dichromate, not a later gelatin silver reproduction. “This photograph is exactly what I thought it was,” one analyst remarks, expressing excitement about bringing the authenticated piece to auction this spring.

By coupling traditional connoisseurship with rigorous lab testing, Sotheby’s bolsters confidence in high‑value art sales and sets a new benchmark for provenance verification. The confirmed authenticity underpins the anticipated million‑dollar price tag and may encourage other auction houses to adopt similar scientific protocols.

Original Description

How do we use science to determine the value of a photograph? Here, Sotheby’s Emily Bierman heads to the lab with photography conservator Luca Ackerman to prove the rarity of this Edward Steichen print. It’s coming to auction at #SothebysNewYork, where it’s set to fetch over $1 million.

Through visual analysis, microscopy, and X-ray fluorescence testing, Ackerman and Bierman uncover the elements that make Steichen’s image of a Rodin sculpture so significant. The multiple emulsions and repeated printings give the image a deep green tonality that is at once ethereal and atmospheric. At the time of its creation, gum bichromate printing was not only time-consuming and technically demanding but also expensive. These technical elements, and the fact that it’s one of only three extant in this large large size, prove that this photograph is a historic masterpiece.

Steichen’s ‘Balzac, The Open Sky—11P.M.' will star in the Modern Day Auction on 20 May. Tap the link in bio for more.

The New York Sales Presenting Partner is CELINE.

Still haven’t subscribed to Sotheby’s on YouTube? ►►https://www.youtube.com/sothebys/