On October 15, Swann Auction Galleries in New York will present its Icons & Images: Fine & Vernacular Photographs auction, demonstrating how, regardless of subject matter, the finest photographers reveal hidden majesty within even the most run-of-the-mill moments. The collection comprises 362 lots of images by masters of the medium, capturing the legendary and ordinary with equal artistry.

In the vernacular vein, Dorothea Lange’s penultimate portrait, Migrant Mother ($9,000 to $12,000), defines the …