A photo of a potato that was taken by a popular Irish visual artist has been sold to a European businessman for more than $1 million.
The million-dollar photo of a stem tuber against a black background was taken by Kevin Abosch, who has taken the portraits of notable subjects, including Malala Yousafza and Yoko Ono, according to ABC News.
So what made the Irish visual artist decide to take a photo of the spud? Abosch revealed that the potato first came into his house in a batch of organic vegetables back in 2010.
Abosch took photos of several potatoes and this particular potato left him uncertain of its variety. "I see commonalities between humans and potatoes that speak to our relationship as individuals within a collective species," he told the Irish Times. "Generally, the life of a harvested potato is violent and taken for granted. I use the potato as a proxy for the ontological study of the human experience."
Abosch admits that while the photograph's price tag might seem "absurd" to some, this is not the first time that one of his prized portraits have been bought off the wall.
"We had two glasses of wine and he [the businessman] said, 'I really like that,'" Abosch told the Sunday Times. "Two more glasses of wine and he said, 'I really want that.'"
The $1 million was the biggest amount Abosch had ever received for one of his works that was not made to order.
Abosch's portraits are well-known amongst the wealthy and majority of these works are regarded as collectors' items. All of his commissioned works frequently begin at $300,000, according to the New York Daily News.
