Everyday life Photography for Sale

In the 1830s, Nièpce discovered how to print images onto metal plates. When he died in 1833, Louis Daguerre, followed by Francois Arago, continued to develop his research, resulting in the invention of the daguerreotype which consisted of an image printed onto a silver plate when exposed to the light. Together they had invented photography.

The first ever photographs began to appear. Initially used for research purposes, photography started to spread as daguerreotype studios opened everywhere. Portrait photography immortalized the faces of the upper middle classes and were later used to capture all members of society. Celebrities were also a popular subject choice and many photographers specialized in taking their portraits, as Jean-Loup Sieff did all throughout his career almost a century after the invention of photography.

In the beginning, taking a portrait or even the simplest of family photos required a great deal of preparation and time in the studio. However, key technological developments brought about the invention of more compact cameras including the Leica and later the digital single-lens reflex, which meant shorter exposure times and made it easier to produce a greater number of photographs.

These advances also helped contribute to the development of the genre of everyday life photography, which became more popular at the end of the Second World War and focused at first on photographing wealthy or urban families. Families, couples, communities... artists were interested in everyday moments (marriage, lovers kissing, children's games). The simplest of moments in life were seen as the most important and were immortalized in film as testaments to the beauty of human life.

Some of the great photographers made a name for themselves in the genre. Henri Cartier-Bresson, Robert Doisneau, David Goldblatt, Martin Parr and Vivian Maier are only a few of the artists associated with everyday life photography.

Vivian Maier is an American photographer who was born in 1926 in New York. A professional nanny in Chicago, she spent her spare time photographing the world around her and produced around 150,000 photos. Having remained anonymous throughout her artistic life, her genius and photographic accomplishments were finally recognized publicly in 2007.

Cofounder of the Magnum Photographic Cooperative in 1947 alongside David Seymour and Robert Capa, Henri Cartier-Bresson was a pioneer of photojournalism but also an excellent photographer in a more artistic sense. He revolutionized photography by working with incredibly lightweight equipment. He didn't use a tripod or a darkroom and treasured a sense of immediacy when taking photographs. He believed that “above all else, the camera is a sketchbook". Henri Cartier-Bresson's photographic technique is unique and unmistakably recognizable. He never photographed with flash and only worked with natural light, something which was highly characteristic of everyday life photography. Often in the same black and white image, the subjects coexist together but are not centred. His framing, focus and depth of field all help us to see the simple beauty of everyday life that he so exquisitely enhances.

Artsper has a range of everyday life photographs for you to discover, including works from Cartier-Bresson as well as many other artists, whose photos reveal the precious moments of the everyday lives of people from around the world.

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Painting, Rising III, Matteo Nannini

Matteo Nannini

Painting . 35 x 90 x 4 cm Painting . 13.8 x 35.4 x 1.6 inch

€2,200

Painting, To War, Kosta Morr

Kosta Morr

Painting . 59.9 x 80 x 2.5 cm Painting . 23.6 x 31.5 x 1 inch

€1,075

Photography, Pesadumbre, Martí Sala

Martí Sala

Photography . 30 x 40 x 1 cm Photography . 11.8 x 15.7 x 0.4 inch

€900

Painting, Inner Warmth, Iryna Tymovchak

Iryna Tymovchak

Painting . 149 x 122 x 2.5 cm Painting . 58.7 x 48 x 1 inch

€1,200

Painting, Selfie 1, Bola Obatuyi

Bola Obatuyi

Painting . 91.4 x 91.4 x 3.8 cm Painting . 36 x 36 x 1.5 inch

€3,450

Painting, Bloc de vie, Richard Poumelin

Richard Poumelin

Painting . 60 x 60 x 2 cm Painting . 23.6 x 23.6 x 0.8 inch

€1,500

Painting, Biker, Christophe Bogdan

Christophe Bogdan

Painting . 108 x 108 x 5 cm Painting . 42.5 x 42.5 x 2 inch

€4,000

Photography, 26. Untitled, Larry Clark

Larry Clark

Photography . 19 x 28 x 0.1 cm Photography . 7.5 x 11 x 0 inch

€800

Painting, Observers, Nicholas Robertson

Nicholas Robertson

Painting . 51.1 x 40.9 x 0.5 cm Painting . 20.1 x 16.1 x 0.2 inch

€979

Painting, Working day, David Jamin

David Jamin

Painting . 65 x 81 x 2.5 cm Painting . 25.6 x 31.9 x 1 inch

€2,100

Painting, La porteuse, Michel Rauscher

Michel Rauscher

Painting . 40 x 40 x 3 cm Painting . 15.7 x 15.7 x 1.2 inch

€1,100

Painting, Marcheuse rose, Xavier Jambon

Xavier Jambon

Painting . 120 x 80 x 4 cm Painting . 47.2 x 31.5 x 1.6 inch

€3,200

Painting, Never Give Up, Art'Mony

Art'Mony

Painting . 40 x 40 x 3 cm Painting . 15.7 x 15.7 x 1.2 inch

€499

Painting, Birdie, Valery Tatar

Valery Tatar

Painting . 155 x 135 x 2 cm Painting . 61 x 53.1 x 0.8 inch

€3,163

Painting, Travelers, Giorgi Melikidze

Giorgi Melikidze

Painting . 40.1 x 40.3 x 2 cm Painting . 15.8 x 15.9 x 0.8 inch

€1,500

Photography, Rue Mouffetard, Uwe Ommer

Uwe Ommer

Photography . 60 x 40 x 0.3 cm Photography . 23.62 x 15.74 x 0.1 inch

€1,344

Painting, Dulce, Carmen Cañadas

Carmen Cañadas

Painting . 60 x 50 x 3 cm Painting . 23.6 x 19.7 x 1.2 inch

€6,500

Painting, Subiendo, Paco Simón

Paco Simón

Painting . 61 x 50 x 1.5 cm Painting . 24 x 19.7 x 0.6 inch

€3,600

Painting, Cluster, Patsy McArthur

Patsy McArthur

Painting . 70 x 112 x 5 cm Painting . 27.6 x 44.1 x 2 inch

€6,000

Painting, Maya, Virginia Benedicto

Virginia Benedicto

Painting . 80 x 80 x 2.5 cm Painting . 31.5 x 31.5 x 1 inch

€2,100

Painting, Morocco Bazaar, Emil Aziz

Emil Aziz

Painting . 85 x 55 x 2 cm Painting . 33.5 x 21.7 x 0.8 inch

€1,300

Painting, Naples Walk, Melinda Patrick

Melinda Patrick

Painting . 45.7 x 45.7 x 3.8 cm Painting . 18 x 18 x 1.5 inch

€659

Painting, Guerra !, Barbara d'Antuono

Barbara d'Antuono

Painting . 60 x 92 x 5 cm Painting . 23.6 x 36.2 x 2 inch

€4,500

Painting, Valley, Nate Plotkin

Nate Plotkin

Painting . 51 x 66 x 2.5 cm Painting . 20.1 x 26 x 1 inch

€4,900 €3,920

Photography, NYC Oculus II, Jochen Cerny

Jochen Cerny

Photography . 200 x 118 x 3 cm Photography . 78.7 x 46.5 x 1.2 inch

€4,800

Photography, Topoleone, Louis Dourant

Louis Dourant

Photography . 60 x 42 x 1 cm Photography . 23.6 x 16.5 x 0.4 inch

€400

Painting, Family Photo, Ilya Gefter

Ilya Gefter

Painting . 36 x 43 x 2 cm Painting . 14.2 x 16.9 x 0.8 inch

€2,509

Painting, Expectation, Eugene Petrov

Eugene Petrov

Painting . 61 x 46 x 2 cm Painting . 24 x 18.1 x 0.8 inch

€950

Painting, Grow, Xiang Shuai

Xiang Shuai

Painting . 60 x 50 x 3 cm Painting . 23.6 x 19.7 x 1.2 inch

€1,800

Painting, Z_CL_01, Silas

Silas

Painting . 42 x 61 x 2 cm Painting . 16.5 x 24 x 0.8 inch

€800

Painting, Red, Tamar Sulakvelidze

Red

Tamar Sulakvelidze

Painting . 50 x 40 x 2 cm Painting . 19.7 x 15.7 x 0.8 inch

€1,800

Photography, Couple Embrace, Tony Potts

Tony Potts

Photography . 50.8 x 40.6 cm Photography . 20 x 16 inch

€1,702

Painting, Il sofa rosso, Aleardo Villa

Aleardo Villa

Painting . 50 x 40 x 2 cm Painting . 19.7 x 15.7 x 0.8 inch

€1,800 €1,440

Painting, Jackie, Ivan Afronskiy

Ivan Afronskiy

Painting . 24 x 30 x 1 cm Painting . 9.4 x 11.8 x 0.4 inch

€1,290

Painting, Untitled, Adolfo Lorenzetti

Adolfo Lorenzetti

Painting . 105 x 125 x 1 cm Painting . 41.3 x 49.2 x 0.4 inch

€1,200