Curator’s Picks: 10 Collectible Photographs Under $10,000
A curated selection of ten collectible photographs under $10,000, from timeless fashion icons to emerging voices redefining the medium. Each piece embodies what 1905 Contemporary stands for: craftsmanship, narrative, and accessibility without compromise.
Nick Mele | Poolside I
Nick Mele’s Poolside I captures the playful charm and understated glamour of Palm Beach — pastel sun, striped umbrellas, and that irresistible sense of leisure. Known for his collaboration with The Colony Hotel, Mele translates his background in advertising into a visual language that’s both aspirational and tongue-in-cheek, framing the quirks of high society with cinematic polish.
Jeffrey Czum | Smoke Show
A cigarette resting between maroon lips, the slight smudge of lipstick — Smoke Show distills Jeffrey Czum’s ability to make the everyday cinematic. His photographs play with fantasy and Americana, where neon dreams meet roadside nostalgia. One of 1905 Contemporary’s fastest-rising names, Czum’s work embodies a rare blend of wit, sensuality, and pop-cultural awareness that collectors can’t get enough of.
Tyler Shields | Kissing in the Rain (Platinum Palladium)
Tyler Shields’ Kissing in the Rain feels cinematic in its emotion and restraint, a moment of pure storytelling caught mid-frame. This platinum palladium edition is the only format the artist has ever printed the photograph in, making it especially rare within his body of work. The historic process, known for its luminous tonal range and permanence, lends the image a timeless quality that blurs the line between past and present. At $3,500, it’s an exceptional opportunity to collect one of Shields’ most evocative photographs in its most refined form.
Phoebe Fitz | Form I
Fluid, feminine, and ethereal, Form I embodies Phoebe Fitz’s gift for turning water into atmosphere. Her underwater studies transform the human form into something dreamlike and painterly, images that feel suspended between breath and silence. Beloved by interior designers for their serenity and subtle color palettes, Fitz’s works bring quiet sophistication to contemporary spaces.
Norman Parkinson | Model Wearing Lanvin Castillo
No conversation about fashion photography is complete without Norman Parkinson. Model Wearing Lanvin Castillo reflects his signature elegance, a marriage of movement, glamour, and natural light that revolutionized post-war fashion imagery. Collecting Parkinson is collecting a piece of history; few artists have bridged haute couture and fine art so effortlessly.
Donna DeMari | Horse and Halter
Fierce yet graceful, Donna DeMari’s Horse and Halter perfectly captures the meeting point between her fashion background and her lifelong love of horses. The composition feels like an editorial for Ralph Lauren, all strength, poise, and motion. For young collectors DeMari’s work resonates deeply: it’s powerful femininity without pretense.
Mike Gray | Morning in Paradise
Shot in black and white, Morning in Paradise channels a nostalgic cinematic mood, sunlight adistilled into tonal simplicity. Mike Gray, already known to a vast digital audience through his YouTube following, is quickly establishing himself as one of the most promising young photographers to watch. His accessible editioned prints offer collectors an early opportunity to support a rising voice.
Toja | Horse Run
Trained under Tyler Shields, Toja brings a raw, visceral energy to wildlife photography. Horse Run is as much about motion as majesty — an image that captures freedom itself. Her technical precision and painterly compositions make each photograph feel monumental. With all works under $10 K, her practice offers an exceptional balance of quality and value.
Antoine Verglas | Freedom
Antoine Verglas’s Freedom distills the ease and sensuality that define his stripped-back French style. Known as one of the original Victoria’s Secret photographers, Verglas has spent decades capturing beauty in its most natural form. His work remains remarkably accessible, offering collectors the chance to own an image by a photographer whose influence still defines the genre.
Soo Burnell | Wild Swimming at Tyninghame
In Wild Swimming at Tyninghame, Soo Burnell reveals the quiet geometry and color harmony that have made her work instantly recognizable. Her signature pastel palette and architectural balance bring a painterly calm to the frame. Recently featured in The Hoxton Edinburgh, her large-scale prints are gaining serious attention from collectors and curators alike — an artist whose ascent feels inevitable.