This is the Most Expensive Photography NFT Ever Sold

Two photos from a series that was minted as NFTs in 2021 twice set the record for the most expensive photography NFT ever sold. If one of those works sells for its current asking price, it can do so again.

Twin Flames

Twin Flames is the name of photographer Justin Aversano’s series that features 100 sets of twins captured over the course of 14 months in locations around the world. According to Aversano, the project was in honor of his fraternal twin and aimed to create a body of work focused on “multiple births and the phenomena of twindom” in what he calls an “immersive portrait study.” Aversano captured the series in three formats: Polaroid, 120mm, and 4×5.

According to Feature Shoot, Aversano minted the 100 photos as NFTs four years after he took the first photo of the collection. He sold the entire project for 0.55 ETH, or about $1,500 by today’s value. Later that year, the NFT for Twin Flames #83. Bahareh & Farzaneh Safarani along with all 100 physical prints were offered through Christie’s, becoming the first NFT to be sold in a photography auction there.

The single NFT and 100 physical photos sold for a whopping $1.11 million. At the time, the sale broke records. The series was not done, however. In November, Twin Flames #49. Alyson and Courtney Aliano sold for 871 ETH (about $2,467,127), which Feature Shoot says makes it the fifth most expensive photograph ever sold and the single most expensive photography NFT ever sold.

Feature Shoot reports that funds from that sale went towards creating a treasury to support a large number of photographers working in the NFT space. That funding eventually went on to become RAW DAO, described as an autonomous decentralized organization devoted to photography on the blockchain.

Aversano went on to become the co-founder of Quantum Art, an NFT platform with a focus on photography.

Poised for a Three-Peat

Twin Flames #49. Alyson & Courtney Aliano was not being offered on OpenSea for any value at the time of publication. However, Twin Flames #83. Bahareh & Farzaneh Safarani has transferred ownership multiple times since its sale on Christie’s and as a result, experienced a dramatic increase in value.

According to the record on OpenSea, it was originally sold over a year ago, but eight months ago was transferred, which does not necessarily mean sold, to Aversano before being transferred again to his own NFT art collection, Twin Flames, a month later. There it remained for six months before being transferred yet again to a user by the name of CL7 a month ago. CL7 now lists the NFT for 3,500 ETH, or over $9.87 million.

At the time of publication, there were no offers for it at that price. If it were to sell at this asking price, it would easily be the highest-selling photography NFT ever.

Editor’s note: The original version of this story incorrectly attributed the highest-selling photography NFT to Twin Flames #83. At the time, the sale did break records, but the most expensive NFT of a photo ever sold falls to Twin Flames #49, which achieved that mark later that year. We apologize for the error.

Header image: Twin Flames #49. Alyson & Courtney Aliano by Justin Aversano, Sotheby’s.