David Yarrow — Parts Unknown II (2023)

Created in the heart of the winter of 2023 in Durango, Colorado, Parts Unknown II captures David Yarrow’s signature blend of cinematic narrative and technical exactitude, staged along the historic Durango–Silverton railway—an American icon immortalised on screen in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. The image was executed after 36 hours of storm conditions that laid roughly 45 cm of fresh snow across the San Juan Forest, with Yarrow’s team seizing a rare atmospheric break when the sky opened and the light softened across the landscape.

More than a photograph, the work reads as a meticulously orchestrated tableau: the vintage steam train, the horse, and the Native American figure each contribute to a carefully balanced composition that feels both documentary and mythic. Yarrow’s practice—renowned for bringing viewers uncomfortably close to remote, emotionally charged worlds—has, in recent years, expanded into constructed environments and layered cultural references, placing this 2023 edition within the most mature phase of his contemporary output.

From a collecting perspective, the piece combines museum-grade production standards with genuine scarcity, offered in a tightly limited edition and at a monumental scale that is central to Yarrow’s market identity. His work is widely published and internationally exhibited, and his primary and secondary-market profile has been supported by significant global sales and consistent auction outperformance in recent years (Artsy data cited at +47% above average estimates over the last 36 months). With more than $125 million in global sales reported in the last four years and over $15 million directed to philanthropic causes, Yarrow’s market visibility and institutional presence—through venues such as Maddox Gallery and Fotografiska—make Parts Unknown II a compelling acquisition at the intersection of contemporary photographic spectacle, cultural Americana, and investment-aware collectability.