Ansel Adams poses with his famous photograph, Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico in an undated photo. His work is setting auction records in New York. (Associated Press)

An Ansel Adams photograph of Yosemite National Park has sold for more than $722,000 US at auction in New York City, setting an auction record.

Clearing Winter Storm, Yosemite National Park was part of the Polaroid collection, which is being sold as part of a bankruptcy proceeding. The Yosemite work had been estimated at $500,000 by Sotheby's.

Adams was a consultant to Polaroid for 35 years and bought works from master photographers for the company.

Polaroid ran an artist support program, which provided free cameras and film to artists in exchange for their feedback on the equipment and images.

The auction at Sotheby's in New York Monday set records for photos by Lucas Samaras and fetched higher than expected prices for works by Chuck Close, Andy Warhol and David Hockney.

The previous auction record for a photograph by Adams, the 20th-century photographer known for his American landscapes, was $609,600 for Moonrise, Hernandez, New Mexico, from 1941. A print of Moonrise, Hernandez sold Monday for $518,500, at the upper range of Sotheby's estimate.

A Samaras work, Ultra-Large (Hands), went for $194,500, surpassing the previous record for the artist of $132,000.

Other photos that went for significantly over their estimated price include:

• 9-Part Self-Portrait, by Chuck Close, $209,500.
• Imogen + Hermione, by David Hockney, $194,500.
• Japanese Sky, by Robert Rauschenberg, $242,500.
• Self-Portrait (Eyes Closed), by Andy Warhol, $254,500.
• Trees and Mist (Chicago Trees in Snow), by Harry Callahan, $254,500.
• Unmade Bed, by Imogene Cunningham, $146,500.

The full auction on Monday brought in $7.1 million, exceeding the top $4.5 million estimate. Another 800 photographs are to be auctioned Tuesday.