# Alberto Korda artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/alberto-korda/
Profile generated: 2026-05-09T14:00:00.000Z
Quality: high confidence, strong sources

## Artist identity

- Birth date: 1928-09-14
- Death date: 2001-05-25
- Nationality: Cuban
- Movements: Cuban Revolutionary Photography
- Common media: gelatin silver prints, photography

## About Alberto Korda

Alberto Korda, born Alberto Díaz Gutiérrez in Havana in 1928, was a Cuban photographer whose work became synonymous with the visual identity of the Cuban Revolution. Active from the early 1950s until his death in 2001, Korda served as Fidel Castro's personal photographer and documented key moments of revolutionary Cuba. His most widely recognized photograph, Guerrillero Heroico (1960), captured Ernesto "Che" Guevara at a memorial service and became one of the most reproduced photographic images of the twentieth century. Beyond this iconic portrait, Korda produced a substantial body of work spanning fashion photography, documentary imagery, and portraits of Cuban cultural and political life. His photographs are held in institutional collections including the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and he remains a central figure in Latin American photography.

## Common works and media

Collectors and appraisers most frequently encounter Korda's work as gelatin silver prints, including portraits of Che Guevara, Fidel Castro, and other Cuban revolutionary figures. The Guerrillero Heroico portrait of Che Guevara is the single most common image associated with his name and exists in multiple print formats ranging from vintage exhibition prints to later authorized editions and mass-produced poster reproductions. Korda also produced fashion and commercial photography in Havana before the revolution, documentary images of Cuban daily life, and landscape photographs. Photographic prints vary in size and may carry studio stamps, handwritten notations, or signatures on the verso.

## Market and appraisal context

Alberto Korda's photographs appear at auction primarily as gelatin silver prints, with value heavily dependent on whether a print is vintage (made close to the negative date) or a later printing. Original prints from the 1960s, particularly those bearing Korda's studio stamp or signature, command stronger results than posthumous or reproduction prints. The Guerrillero Heroico image is the most commonly encountered work, but collectors should distinguish between an original photographic print and the far more numerous poster and merchandise reproductions. Provenance, print date, condition, and authentication stamps are the primary factors an appraiser will evaluate. Korda's fashion and documentary work outside the iconic Che portrait is less frequently seen at auction and may require specialist assessment.

## Appraisily data basis

Appraisily artist pages combine independent artist-identity research from museum records, library authority files, and biographical sources with auction-house records, sale dates, realized prices, and comparable lots when those records are available. For Alberto Korda, identity data is sourced from the Museum of Modern Art, the RKD, Getty ULAN, and VIAF authority files. Market observations draw on general auction-category patterns and published scholarship. Appraisily does not provide appraisals; collectors seeking formal valuations should consult a qualified appraiser.

## Sources

- RKD — Netherlands Institute for Art History: https://rkd.nl/en/explore/artists/387064
- The Museum of Modern Art: https://www.moma.org/artists/75541
- VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/39427194/
- Getty Vocabulary Program: https://vocab.getty.edu/page/ulan/500076917
- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q215938
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alberto_Korda
- Library of Congress: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/nr90027205