World Press Photo’s Print Sale Lets You Own Part of Photography’s History

Nov 16, 2025

Jeremy Gray

On the left, Olympic athletes race on a track with a stadium and crowd in the background. On the right, an astronaut stands on the moon next to an American flag, with footprints visible on the lunar surface.

World Press Photo is celebrating 70 iconic photographs taken over the past 70 years with a print sale: 70 Prints for 70 Years. Some of these shots have never been sold as prints before.

The curated selection of 70 photos from the World Press Photo archives was captured by 70 photographers, including influential photographers such as Charlie Cole, Jaime Rojo, Lee-Ann Olwage, Vincent Mentzel, and Diana Markosian, to name just a few. There are also photos that were not captured by people best known for photography at all, like Neil Armstrong’s portrait of Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin on the Moon during Apollo 11.

Alongside very well-known names, the collection also includes work from Joop Swart Masterclass participants, which World Press Photo says helps highlight its focus on educating the next generation of photographers.

A lone person stands in front of a line of three military tanks on a wide, empty street, blocking their path. — ‘A demonstrator confronts a line of People’s Liberation Army tanks on Chang’an Avenue, Beijing, China, during protests for democratic reform on Tiananmen Square, on June 5, 1989.

Tiananmen Square had been the site of non-violent pro-democracy protests for weeks when the military moved in and opened fire on June 4. Although there has been no publicly released record of deaths, witnesses estimated up to several thousand fatalities. This photograph, along with other images of the scene, became an international symbol for peaceful resistance. There is no reliable information about what happened to the unidentified demonstrator and the Tank Man pictures remain banned in China.’ | Credit: Charlie Cole, Newsweek

A vibrant street scene shows a crowd watching a classic pink car decorated with balloons and a girl in a dress riding on top, likely during a parade or celebration, with people taking photos and the sun setting in the background. — ‘Pura rides around her neighborhood in a pink 1950s convertible, as the community gathers to celebrate her fifteenth birthday, in Havana, Cuba, on August 6, 2018.

A girl’s quinceañera (fifteenth birthday) is a Latino coming-of-age tradition marking transition into womanhood. It is a gender specific rite of passage, traditionally showcasing a girl’s purity and readiness for marriage. Families go to great expense, often celebrating with a lavish party. The girl dresses as a princess, living out a fantasy and perceived idea of femininity. In Cuba, the tradition has transformed into a performance involving photo and video shoots, often documented in a photobook. Pura’s quinceañera had a special poignancy, as some years earlier, having been diagnosed with a brain tumor, she was told she would not live beyond the age of 13.’ | Credit: Diana Markosian, Magnum Photos

A woman with blonde hair stands beside a mirror in a salon, creating a double image of her. Behind her are shelves with hair products and wig stands, and the walls are painted light blue. — ‘Brigitte Adjoua, Abidjan, 2014.’ | Credit: Émilie Regnier

A group of passionate football fans, mostly women wearing red scarves and jerseys, react with excitement and tension in a crowded stadium during the 2018 AFC Champions League Final. — ‘Women follow the AFC Champions League Cup match between Iran’s Persepolis and Japan’s Kashima Antlers from a segregated section of a stand at the Azadi Stadium, Tehran, on November 10, 2018.

In Iran, there are restrictions on female fans entering football stadiums. As football is the nation’s most popular sport, the ban has been a controversial public issue. On March 1, 2018, FIFA president Gianni Infantino met with the president of Iran, Hassan Rouhani, to address the issue. Social-media groups also put the president under pressure, and on June 20 a ruling allowed Tehran’s Azadi Stadium to admit selected groups of women for international matches. The concession to women fans applied only to international matches, and after a senior judicial officer objected in October, it was withdrawn. On November 10, the FIFA president, who was attending the AFC Cup match in Tehran, asked to be shown that women were being allowed to attend. A selection of women were permitted to enter, though many others were barred.’ | Credit: Forough Alaei

Thousands of orange and black monarch butterflies fill the sky above green trees, seen from below, with a bright blue sky visible through the dense swarm. — Butterflies stream through protected indigenous fir forests in the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve. The mountain hillsides of oyamel forest provide an ideal overwintering microclimate. Michoacán, Mexico, on February 24, 2023. | Credit: Jaime Rojo, National Geographic

Each of the 70 photos will be available as a limited-edition, museum-quality print measuring 20 x 30 cm (a little smaller than 8 x 12 inches). The World Press Photo “70 Prints for 70 Years” print sale runs from November 17 to November 26. After it ends, that’s it, and these prints will no longer be available for purchase. An unframed print costs €150 ($180/£135), while a framed version is €250 ($300/£220). Those who sign up for World Press Photo’s newsletter can get 15% off a print purchase for the first 24 hours of the sale. Those who are already subscribed will also get access to the short-lived discount.

World Press Photo adds that purchasing a print helps directly support photographers “at a time when independent visual journalism faces growing challenges.” The organization says that proceeds from the print sale contribute to its work safeguarding and protecting photojournalism across the globe.

Runners compete on a track at an Olympic stadium with a large crowd in the stands. The iconic Olympic rings and columns are visible in the background, and the athletes are reflected in a pool of water in the foreground. — ‘The Summer Olympic Games: Runners in the men’s 1500m event stride past the Los Angeles Coliseum on August 11, 1984.’ | Credit: José Azel, Contact Press Images

A cowboy stands with arms raised beside a calf lying on the ground, while a horse stands nearby holding a rope taut in a rodeo arena. — ‘For the rodeo cowboys traveling around America, the rodeo is not just a hobby or a job: it is a way of life. They spend most of their time on the road between one event and the next, planning their lives around the rodeo calendar. For some, it is not unusual to take part in more than 100 rodeos a year all over the US and Canada. Today’s competitive rodeo, where skills like lassoing and broncobusting are demonstrated, finds its origin in the cattle ranches of the Wild West. 1994.’ | Credit: Klaas Jan van der Weij

A woman in a colorful, elegant gown poses confidently in an outdoor market, with vendors grilling food in the background and signs for "FOOD TOWN HYPER" and other shops visible behind her. — ‘Belinda Qaqamba Ka-Fassie, a drag artist and activist, poses at a shisanyama—a community space where women cook and sell meat—in Khayelitsha, a township located on the Cape Flats, near Cape Town, South Africa.

Belinda, the photographer, and other black, queer, gender non-conforming and transgender people collaborated in a project to decolonize drag culture and find a particularly African expression of drag. The aim was also to highlight the need for the African lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer (LGBTQ+) community to find their identities irrespective of their backgrounds, and to reclaim the public space in a community where they are subject to discrimination, harassment and violence. Discrimination is part of everyday life for LGBTQ+ people in townships such as Khayelitsha, especially in public areas. A survey of 2,000 LGBTQ+ people by South African rights organization OUT found that within a two-year period, 39% had been verbally insulted, 20% threatened, 17% chased or followed, and nearly 10% physically attacked.’ | Credit: Lee-Ann Olwage

People of various ages stand and play in shallow water at a colorful outdoor water park with slides, palm tree decorations, and fountains under a clear sky. — ‘Visitors amuse themselves at El Castillo water attraction at Mirabilandia, Italy, 2006. Covering some 750,000 square meters, Mirabilandia is one of the largest leisure parks in the country.’ | Credit: Massimo Siragusa, Contrasto

A group of people on horseback ride across a vast, open grassland. One rider at the front carries a large red flag. The sky is overcast and the landscape is flat and expansive. — ‘Mongolian soldiers during a training to fight potential enemies on the steppe of Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, an autonomous region within the People’s Republic of China in May 1977. In the same month, Princess Beatrix and Prince Claus of the Netherlands visited China. The official program also included a visit to Inner Mongolia, which had only recently been opened up to foreign visitors.’ | Credit: Vincent Mentzel, NRC Handelsblad

A person has fallen off a motorcycle on a dirt track, with their legs in the air and body on the ground amid a cloud of dust, while the motorcycle lies on its side nearby. — ‘A competitor tumbles off his motorcycle during the Motorcross World Championship at the Volk Mølle race course in Randers, Denmark, on August 28 1955. This photograph was the first ever World Press Photo of the Year.’ | Photo credit: Mogens von Haven, Museum Odense

An astronaut in a spacesuit stands on the moon’s surface near an American flag, with numerous footprints and the lunar lander visible under a dark sky. — ‘Astronaut Edwin ‘Buzz’ Aldrin poses for Neil Armstrong’s camera (attached to the chest of his spacesuit) by the US flag on the moon’s Sea of Tranquility on July 21, 1969.’ | Credit: Neil Armstrong, NASA

World Press Photo was founded in the Netherlands in 1955 and is perhaps best known among PetaPixel readers for its annual photo contest, which shines a light on global issues through exceptional photography. Each year, the competition showcases the world’s best and most powerful photojournalism and documentary photography work.

“Over the past 70 years, World Press Photo has collaborated with ambitious, brave and innovative photographers who have shaped our collective memory of world events, and offered us new ways of seeing. This sale is a chance to honor that history, while also looking towards the future,” says Joumana El Zein Khoury, Executive Director, World Press Photo. “Each print represents not only a moment in time, but also the courage and creativity of the photographer behind it. By purchasing one of these prints, you are joining us in recognizing the enduring value of visual storytelling and helping us to ensure that the next generation of photographers can continue to tell vital stories.”

A woman in tan clothing sits on a red chair at an outdoor market, surrounded by empty chairs and people in black attire. Text reads, "70 PRINTS FOR 70 YEARS, 17-26 NOVEMBER 2025." Photo credit: Ahmad Halabisaz.