An Irish photographer has sold a picture of a potato to a wealthy businessman – for £750,000!
The photo was taken by Kevin Abosch in 2010, but he recently sold it for the staggering fee after the rich collector spotted it while having dinner at his house.
Abosch is a widely respected photographer and is best known for his portraits. He has previously photographed Hollywood stars such as Johnny Depp and Steven Spielberg, and it not unusual for his pictures to sell for hundreds of thousands of pounds.
However, those prices are normally paid for portraits of global icons, not potatoes.
As well as photographing people, Abosch has also always liked taking pictures of potatoes, because, like humans, each one has its own unique features.
The particular spud in question was called Potato #345. It caught the eye of the wealthy buyer when he was having dinner at Abosch’s home.
The Irish artist told the Sunday Times: “It’s not the first time that someone has bought the art right off my wall. We had two glasses of wine and he said, ‘I really like that’.
“Two more glasses of wine and he said, ‘I really want that’. We set the price two weeks later.”
In the past Abosch has photographed a collection of portraits named 250 People of Ireland which was put on display at Dublin Airport.
He has also had his portraits shown in the National Gallery of Ireland.
To read about more photographers from Ireland, and to gain some vital tips and techniques, visit our Irish photographers page.
