Steichen photo sets sale record

A rare 1904 photograph of a moonlit pond by pioneering photographer Edward Steichen has been sold for $2.9 million, more than doubling the previous record of the most expensive photo sold at auction.

Peter MacGill of New York’s Pace/MacGill Gallery, representing a private collector, was Tuesday night’s winning bidder for the Steichen, titled “The Pond -- Moonlight.” That sale at Sotheby’s topped the $1.24 million that Christie’s got in November for an untitled 1989 artwork by Richard Prince, a photograph of part of a 1970s Marlboro cigarette advertisement.