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, Le mur jaune, Maurice Douard

Maurice Douard

Painting . 50 x 75 x 5 cm Painting . 19.7 x 29.5 x 2 inch

€1,200

Painting, Beauty in Unity, Betty Acquah

Betty Acquah

Painting . 101.6 x 152.4 x 5.1 cm Painting . 40 x 60 x 2 inch

€7,974

Painting, Untitled, Leonard Ngure

Leonard Ngure

Painting . 57 x 96 x 2 cm Painting . 22.4 x 37.8 x 0.8 inch

€2,100

Photography, Surreal Cemetery, Ken Heyman

Ken Heyman

Photography . 27.9 x 35.6 x 1.3 cm Photography . 11 x 14 x 0.5 inch

€4,301

Painting, Lap, Nina Urushadze

Lap

Nina Urushadze

Painting . 100 x 80 x 2 cm Painting . 39.4 x 31.5 x 0.8 inch

€2,000

Painting, Untitled, Runzovsky

Runzovsky

Painting . 50 x 70 x 1 cm Painting . 19.7 x 27.6 x 0.4 inch

€540

Painting, 432 HZ, Jean-Paul Sportiello

Jean-Paul Sportiello

Painting . 34 x 44 x 2.5 cm Painting . 13.4 x 17.3 x 1 inch

€880

Painting, Urban Allure, Anne Ravliuc

Anne Ravliuc

Painting . 91.9 x 72.9 x 3 cm Painting . 36.2 x 28.7 x 1.2 inch

€2,373

Painting, Safety Rules, Helen Uter

Helen Uter

Painting . 116 x 89 x 2.5 cm Painting . 45.7 x 35 x 1 inch

€3,500

Painting, L’espera, Bep Febrer

Bep Febrer

Painting . 75 x 62 x 3 cm Painting . 29.5 x 24.4 x 1.2 inch

€1,000

Photography, Galleon, Monica Denevan

Monica Denevan

Photography . 40 x 50 cm Photography . 15.7 x 19.7 inch

€880

Painting, Jeunes filles, Jean Ducommun

Jean Ducommun

Painting . 46.5 x 33 x 2 cm Painting . 18.3 x 13 x 0.8 inch

€1,728

Painting, Le passage, Fanny Gueniot

Fanny Gueniot

Painting . 100 x 80 x 1.5 cm Painting . 39.4 x 31.5 x 0.6 inch

€3,200

Painting, La promenade, Patrick Marie

Patrick Marie

Painting . 130 x 100 x 2 cm Painting . 51.2 x 39.4 x 0.8 inch

€3,200

Photography, Capitaine, Isabelle Picarel

Isabelle Picarel

Photography . 53 x 80 x 0.1 cm Photography . 20.9 x 31.5 x 0 inch

€950

Painting, Big Band, Giancarlo Impiglia

Giancarlo Impiglia

Painting . 213.4 x 213.4 x 2.5 cm Painting . 84 x 84 x 1 inch

€71,681

Painting, Blue Note, Christof Monnin

Christof Monnin

Painting . 100 x 100 x 2.5 cm Painting . 39.4 x 39.4 x 1 inch

€1,500

Painting, Bus, Hassan Jouni

Bus

Hassan Jouni

Painting . 90 x 140 cm Painting . 35.4 x 55.1 inch

€17,000

Painting, Exuberance, Agi Petrova

Agi Petrova

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

€1,100

Painting, Lucky, Ilia Filatov

Ilia Filatov

Painting . 110 x 90 x 2 cm Painting . 43.3 x 35.4 x 0.8 inch

€3,226

Painting, Domenica, Pipi Pírez

Pipi Pírez

Painting . 81 x 100 x 3.5 cm Painting . 31.9 x 39.4 x 1.4 inch

€3,530

Painting, Dessert, Rustam Qbik

Rustam Qbik

Painting . 100 x 70 x 3 cm Painting . 39.4 x 27.6 x 1.2 inch

€2,750

Painting, CULERS, Josep Mensa

Josep Mensa

Painting . 85.5 x 108 x 3 cm Painting . 33.7 x 42.5 x 1.2 inch

€2,500

Painting, Confidences, Sophie Geider

Sophie Geider

Painting . 116 x 81 x 3 cm Painting . 45.7 x 31.9 x 1.2 inch

€2,700

Painting, Ualquindedocs, Maria Perello

Maria Perello

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

€1,980

Painting, Choregraphie, Maude Ovize

Maude Ovize

Painting . 89 x 116 x 3 cm Painting . 35 x 45.7 x 1.2 inch

€2,600

Photography, New York, Lisa Tomasetti

Lisa Tomasetti

Photography . 58 x 70 x 1 cm Photography . 22.8 x 27.6 x 0.4 inch

€3,500

Painting, No Way, Thibault Laget-Ro

Thibault Laget-Ro

Painting . 92 x 73 x 2 cm Painting . 36.2 x 28.7 x 0.8 inch

€3,500

Painting, Without WiFi, Konovalov Igor

Konovalov Igor

Painting . 110 x 135 x 2 cm Painting . 43.3 x 53.1 x 0.8 inch

€1,800

Painting, Aguas serenas, Eneko Arruza

Eneko Arruza

Painting . 146 x 114 x 2 cm Painting . 57.5 x 44.9 x 0.8 inch

€7,500