List of most expensive paintings
Encyclopedia
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
s. The earliest sale on the list (Vase with Fifteen Sunflowers
Sunflowers (series of paintings)
Sunflowers are the subject of two series of still life paintings by the Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh. The earlier series executed in Paris in 1887 gives the flowers lying on the ground, while the second set executed a year later in Arles shows bouquets of sunflowers in a vase...
by Vincent van Gogh
Vincent van Gogh
Vincent Willem van Gogh , and used Brabant dialect in his writing; it is therefore likely that he himself pronounced his name with a Brabant accent: , with a voiced V and palatalized G and gh. In France, where much of his work was produced, it is...
) is from 1987, and more than tripled the previous record price, set only two years before, introducing a new era in top picture prices. The sale was also significant in that for the first time a "modern" painting (in this case from 1888) became the record holder, as opposed to the old master paintings which had always previously held it. Since that time sales of the most valuable paintings have usually been made at auctions, though that had by no means always been the case before, and the list below still shows some "private sales", including the three most expensive. The current record price was paid for No. 5, 1948
No. 5, 1948
No. 5, 1948 is a painting by Jackson Pollock, an American painter known for his contributions to the abstract expressionist movement. The painting was done on an 8' × 4' sheet of fiberboard, with thick amounts of brown and yellow paint drizzled on top of it, forming a nest-like appearance. It was...
by Jackson Pollock
Jackson Pollock
Paul Jackson Pollock , known as Jackson Pollock, was an influential American painter and a major figure in the abstract expressionist movement. During his lifetime, Pollock enjoyed considerable fame and notoriety. He was regarded as a mostly reclusive artist. He had a volatile personality, and...
, which was sold for US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
140 million in 2006 (approx. $156.8 million in CPI
Consumer price index
A consumer price index measures changes in the price level of consumer goods and services purchased by households. The CPI, in the United States is defined by the Bureau of Labor Statistics as "a measure of the average change over time in the prices paid by urban consumers for a market basket of...
-adjusted 2011 US dollars). According to some rumours, one of the paintings in The Card Players
The Card Players
The Card Players is a series of oil paintings from the French Post-Impressionist artist Paul Cézanne. Painted during Cézanne's final period in the early 1890s, there are five paintings in the series. The versions vary in size and in the number of players depicted...
series by Paul Cézanne
Paul Cézanne
Paul Cézanne was a French artist and Post-Impressionist painter whose work laid the foundations of the transition from the 19th century conception of artistic endeavour to a new and radically different world of art in the 20th century. Cézanne can be said to form the bridge between late 19th...
was sold in a private sale for over $250 million early in 2011.
Background
The world's most famous paintings, especially old master works done before 1800, are generally owned by museumMuseum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
s, which very rarely sell them, and as such, they are quite literally priceless. Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records, known until 2000 as The Guinness Book of Records , is a reference book published annually, containing a collection of world records, both human achievements and the extremes of the natural world...
lists the Mona Lisa
Mona Lisa
Mona Lisa is a portrait by the Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci. It is a painting in oil on a poplar panel, completed circa 1503–1519...
as having the highest insurance
Insurance
In law and economics, insurance is a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent, uncertain loss. Insurance is defined as the equitable transfer of the risk of a loss, from one entity to another, in exchange for payment. An insurer is a company selling the...
value for a painting in history. It was assessed at US$100 million on December 14, 1962, before the painting toured the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
for several months. However, the Louvre
Louvre
The Musée du Louvre – in English, the Louvre Museum or simply the Louvre – is one of the world's largest museums, the most visited art museum in the world and a historic monument. A central landmark of Paris, it is located on the Right Bank of the Seine in the 1st arrondissement...
chose to spend the money that would have been spent on the insurance premium on security instead. Taking inflation
Inflation
In economics, inflation is a rise in the general level of prices of goods and services in an economy over a period of time.When the general price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services. Consequently, inflation also reflects an erosion in the purchasing power of money – a...
into account, the 1962 value would be around US$743 million in 2011.
The earliest sale on the list below (Vase with Fifteen Sunflowers
Sunflowers (series of paintings)
Sunflowers are the subject of two series of still life paintings by the Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh. The earlier series executed in Paris in 1887 gives the flowers lying on the ground, while the second set executed a year later in Arles shows bouquets of sunflowers in a vase...
by Vincent van Gogh
Vincent van Gogh
Vincent Willem van Gogh , and used Brabant dialect in his writing; it is therefore likely that he himself pronounced his name with a Brabant accent: , with a voiced V and palatalized G and gh. In France, where much of his work was produced, it is...
) is from March 1987; with a price of £24.75 million ($80 million in 2011 dollars) it tripled the previous record and introduced a new era in top art sales. Before this, the highest absolute price paid for a painting was £8.1 million ($22 million in 2011 dollars) paid by the J. Paul Getty Museum
J. Paul Getty Museum
The J. Paul Getty Museum, a program of the J. Paul Getty Trust, is an art museum. It has two locations, one at the Getty Center in Los Angeles, California, and one at the Getty Villa in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, California...
for Mantegna
Andrea Mantegna
Andrea Mantegna was an Italian painter, a student of Roman archeology, and son in law of Jacopo Bellini. Like other artists of the time, Mantegna experimented with perspective, e.g., by lowering the horizon in order to create a sense of greater monumentality...
's Adoration of the Magi at Christie's
Christie's
Christie's is an art business and a fine arts auction house.- History :The official company literature states that founder James Christie conducted the first sale in London, England, on 5 December 1766, and the earliest auction catalogue the company retains is from December 1766...
in London on April 18, 1985. In constant dollars
Constant dollars
The term constant dollars refers to a metric for valuing the price of something over time, without that metric changing due to inflation or deflation. The term specifically refers to dollars whose present value is linked to a given year. The term constant dollars refers to a metric for valuing the...
, the highest price paid before 1987 was by the National Gallery of Art
National Gallery of Art
The National Gallery of Art and its Sculpture Garden is a national art museum, located on the National Mall between 3rd and 9th Streets at Constitution Avenue NW, in Washington, DC...
when in February 1967 they acquired Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci was an Italian Renaissance polymath: painter, sculptor, architect, musician, scientist, mathematician, engineer, inventor, anatomist, geologist, cartographer, botanist and writer whose genius, perhaps more than that of any other figure, epitomized the Renaissance...
's Ginevra de' Benci
Ginevra de' Benci
Ginevra de' Benci was an aristocrat from 15th-century Florence, admired for her intelligence by Florentine contemporaries. She is the subject of a portrait painting by Leonardo da Vinci...
for around $5 million ($34 million in 2011 dollars) from the Princely Family of Liechtenstein
Princely Family of Liechtenstein
The Liechtenstein dynasty, from which the principality takes its name, is the family which reigns by constitutional, hereditary right over the nation of Liechtenstein...
. The sale of Van Gogh's Sunflowers was also significant in that for the first time a "modern" (in this case 1888) painting became the record holder, as opposed to the old master paintings which previously had dominated the market. In contrast, there are currently only five pre-1800 paintings among the top 41 listed, none of which have reached the Sunflowers constant dollar price.
Van Gogh and Picasso
Vincent van GoghVincent van Gogh
Vincent Willem van Gogh , and used Brabant dialect in his writing; it is therefore likely that he himself pronounced his name with a Brabant accent: , with a voiced V and palatalized G and gh. In France, where much of his work was produced, it is...
and Pablo Picasso
Pablo Picasso
Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso known as Pablo Ruiz Picasso was a Spanish expatriate painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist, and stage designer, one of the greatest and most influential artists of the...
are by far the best represented artists in the list. Whereas Picasso became a wealthy man, Van Gogh (supposedly) sold only one painting in his lifetime, The Red Vineyard
The Red Vineyard
The Red Vineyard is an oil painting by the Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh, executed on a privately-primed Toile de 30 piece of burlap in early November 1888...
, for 400 Francs (about $1600) to the impressionist painter and heiress Anna Boch
Anna Boch
Anna Rosalie Boch was a Belgian painter, born in Saint-Vaast, Hainaut. Anna Boch died in Ixelles in 1936 and is interred there in the Ixelles Cemetery, Brussels, Belgium.-Artistic style:...
. His seven paintings in the list below alone were sold for $670 million.
List of highest prices paid at auctions or private sales (inflation adjusted)
This list is ordered by consumer price indexConsumer price index
A consumer price index measures changes in the price level of consumer goods and services purchased by households. The CPI, in the United States is defined by the Bureau of Labor Statistics as "a measure of the average change over time in the prices paid by urban consumers for a market basket of...
inflation-adjusted value (in bold) in millions of June 2011 United States dollar
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
s. Where necessary, the price is first converted to dollars using the exchange rate
Exchange rate
In finance, an exchange rate between two currencies is the rate at which one currency will be exchanged for another. It is also regarded as the value of one country’s currency in terms of another currency...
at the time the painting was sold. The inflation adjustment may change as recent inflation rates are often revised. A list in another currency may be in a slightly different order due to exchange rate fluctuations. Paintings are only listed once, i.e. for the highest price sold.
| Adjusted price (in millions) | Original price (in millions) | Painting | Artist | Year | Date of sale | Rank at sale | Seller | Buyer | Auction house |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $156.8 | $140 | No. 5, 1948 No. 5, 1948 No. 5, 1948 is a painting by Jackson Pollock, an American painter known for his contributions to the abstract expressionist movement. The painting was done on an 8' × 4' sheet of fiberboard, with thick amounts of brown and yellow paint drizzled on top of it, forming a nest-like appearance. It was... |
Jackson Pollock Jackson Pollock Paul Jackson Pollock , known as Jackson Pollock, was an influential American painter and a major figure in the abstract expressionist movement. During his lifetime, Pollock enjoyed considerable fame and notoriety. He was regarded as a mostly reclusive artist. He had a volatile personality, and... |
1948 | 2006-11-02 | 1 | David Geffen David Geffen David Geffen is an American record executive, film producer, theatrical producer and philanthropist. Geffen is noted for creating Asylum Records in 1970, Geffen Records in 1980, and DGC Records in 1990... |
Private sale via Sotheby's Sotheby's Sotheby's is the world's fourth oldest auction house in continuous operation.-History:The oldest auction house in operation is the Stockholms Auktionsverk founded in 1674, the second oldest is Göteborgs Auktionsverk founded in 1681 and third oldest being founded in 1731, all Swedish... |
|
| $154.0 | $137.5 | Woman III Woman III Woman III is a painting by abstract expressionist painter Willem de Kooning. Woman III is one of a series of six paintings by de Kooning done between 1951 and 1953 in which the central theme was a woman... |
Willem de Kooning Willem de Kooning Willem de Kooning was a Dutch American abstract expressionist artist who was born in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.... |
1953 | 2006-11-18 | 2 | David Geffen David Geffen David Geffen is an American record executive, film producer, theatrical producer and philanthropist. Geffen is noted for creating Asylum Records in 1970, Geffen Records in 1980, and DGC Records in 1990... |
Steven A. Cohen Steven A. Cohen Steven "Steve" A. Cohen is an American hedge fund manager. He is the founder of SAC Capital Advisors, a Stamford, Connecticut-based hedge fund focusing primarily on equity market strategies.... |
Private sale via Larry Gagosian Larry Gagosian Lawrence Gilbert "Larry" Gagosian is an American art dealer who owns the Gagosian Gallery chain of art galleries, with three locations in New York City Lawrence Gilbert "Larry" Gagosian (born April 19, 1945) is an American art dealer who owns the Gagosian Gallery chain of art galleries, with three... |
| $150.2 | $135 | Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I is a painting by Gustav Klimt completed in 1907. According to press reports it was sold for US$135 million to Ronald Lauder for his Neue Galerie in New York City in June 2006, which made it at that time the most expensive painting for about 4 months... |
Gustav Klimt Gustav Klimt Gustav Klimt was an Austrian Symbolist painter and one of the most prominent members of the Vienna Secession movement. His major works include paintings, murals, sketches, and other art objects... |
1907 | 2006-06-18 | 1 | Maria Altmann Maria Altmann Maria Altmann was a Jewish refugee from Nazi Austria, noted for her ultimately successful legal campaign to reclaim five family-owned paintings by the artist Gustav Klimt, stolen by the Nazis during World War II, from the Government of Austria.She was born Maria Victoria Bloch, in Vienna... |
Ronald Lauder Ronald Lauder Ronald Steven Lauder is a Jewish-American businessman, civic leader, philanthropist, and art collector. Forbes lists Lauder among the richest people of the world with an estimated net worth of $3.0 billion in 2007.-Life and career:... , Neue Galerie Neue Galerie The Neue Galerie New York is a museum of early twentieth-century German and Austrian art and design located at 86th Street and Fifth Avenue in New York City, United States... |
Private sale via Christie's Christie's Christie's is an art business and a fine arts auction house.- History :The official company literature states that founder James Christie conducted the first sale in London, England, on 5 December 1766, and the earliest auction catalogue the company retains is from December 1766... |
| $144.1 | $82.5 | Portrait of Dr. Gachet Portrait of Dr. Gachet Portrait of Dr. Gachet is one of the most revered paintings by Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh. It depicts Dr. Paul Gachet, who took care of him during the final months of his life... |
Vincent van Gogh Vincent van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh , and used Brabant dialect in his writing; it is therefore likely that he himself pronounced his name with a Brabant accent: , with a voiced V and palatalized G and gh. In France, where much of his work was produced, it is... |
1890 | 1990-05-15 | 1 | Siegfried Kramarsky family | Ryoei Saito Ryoei Saito Ryoei Saito was the honorary chairman of Daishowa Paper Manufacturing, Japan.He was noted for his purchase of expensive art like Portrait of Dr. Gachet amongst others.... |
Christie's Christie's Christie's is an art business and a fine arts auction house.- History :The official company literature states that founder James Christie conducted the first sale in London, England, on 5 December 1766, and the earliest auction catalogue the company retains is from December 1766... , New York New York City New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and... |
| $136.4 | $78.1 | Bal du moulin de la Galette | Pierre-Auguste Renoir Pierre-Auguste Renoir Pierre-Auguste Renoir was a French artist who was a leading painter in the development of the Impressionist style. As a celebrator of beauty, and especially feminine sensuality, it has been said that "Renoir is the final representative of a tradition which runs directly from Rubens to... |
1876 | 1990-05-17 | 2 | Betsey Whitney Betsey Cushing Roosevelt Whitney Betsey Roosevelt Whitney , was an American philanthropist, the ex-wife of James Roosevelt , and later wife of American millionaire and U.S. Ambassador to the Court of St... |
Ryoei Saito | Sotheby's Sotheby's Sotheby's is the world's fourth oldest auction house in continuous operation.-History:The oldest auction house in operation is the Stockholms Auktionsverk founded in 1674, the second oldest is Göteborgs Auktionsverk founded in 1681 and third oldest being founded in 1731, all Swedish... , New York |
| $124.3 | $104.2 | Garçon à la pipe Garçon à la pipe Garçon à la Pipe is a painting by Pablo Picasso. It was painted in 1905 when Picasso was 24 years old, during his Rose Period, soon after he settled in the Montmartre section of Paris, France... |
Pablo Picasso Pablo Picasso Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso known as Pablo Ruiz Picasso was a Spanish expatriate painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist, and stage designer, one of the greatest and most influential artists of the... |
1905 | 2004-05-04 | 3 | Greentree foundation (Whitney family) | Barilla Group? | Sotheby's, New York |
| $110.2 | $106.5 | Nude, Green Leaves and Bust | Pablo Picasso | 1932 | 2010-05-04 | 7 | Frances Lasker Brody Frances Lasker Brody Frances Lasker Brody, was an American arts advocate, collector and philanthropist who influenced the development of Los Angeles' cultural life as a founding benefactor of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and later as a guiding patron of the Huntington Library, Art Collections and Gardens.Mrs.... estate |
Christie's, New York | |
| $107 ++ | $58 plus exchange of works | Portrait of Joseph Roulin | Vincent van Gogh | 1889 | 1989-08-01 | 1 | Private collection, Zürich | Museum of Modern Art New York | Private sale via Thomas Ammann Thomas Ammann Thomas E. Ammann was a leading Swiss art dealer in Impressionist and Twentieth Century Art and major collector of Post-war and Contemporary Art.-Life:... , Fine Art Zurich |
| $106.1 | $95.2 | Dora Maar au Chat Dora Maar au Chat Dora Maar au Chat is a 1941 painting by Pablo Picasso. It depicts Dora Maar, the painter's lover, seated on a chair with a small cat perched on her shoulders... |
Pablo Picasso | 1941 | 2006-05-03 | 4 | Gidwitz family Gerald Gidwitz Gerald S. Gidwitz was a co-founder of Helene Curtis Industries.-Early life:Gidwitz was born in Memphis, Tennessee. His father was a cotton farmer and general store owner in Mississippi... |
Boris Ivanishvili Boris Ivanishvili Boris Ivanishvili is a Georgian oligarch with a net worth reported to be 5.5 billion dollars.- Biographical details :... |
Sotheby's, New York |
| $105.1 | $53.9 | Irises Irises (painting) Irises is a painting by the Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh. Irises was painted while Vincent van Gogh was living at the asylum at Saint Paul-de-Mausole in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, France, in the last year before his death in 1890.... |
Vincent van Gogh | 1889 | 1987-11-11 | 1 | son of Joan Whitney Payson Joan Whitney Payson Joan Whitney Payson was an American heiress, businesswoman, philanthropist, patron of the arts and art collector, and a member of the prominent Whitney family... |
Alan Bond Alan Bond (businessman) Alan Bond is an Australian businessman noted for his criminal convictions and high-profile business dealings, including what was at the time the biggest corporate collapse in Australian history. Bond was born in the Hammersmith district of London, England, and emigrated to Australia with his... |
Sotheby's, New York |
| $104.2 | $100.0 | Eight Elvises Eight Elvises Eight Elvises is a 1963 silkscreen painting by American pop artist Andy Warhol of Elvis Presley.On November 26, 2009, The Economist reported that the painting was sold by Italian collector Annibale Berlingieri to a private collector brokered by Philippe Ségalot, a French art consultant for $100... |
Andy Warhol Andy Warhol Andrew Warhola , known as Andy Warhol, was an American painter, printmaker, and filmmaker who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art... |
1963 | 2008-10 | 10 | Annibale Berlingieri | Private sale via Philippe Ségalot | |
| $98.5 | $87.9 | Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer II Adele Bloch-Bauer II Adele Bloch-Bauer II is a 1912 painting by Gustav Klimt. Adele Bloch-Bauer was the wife of Ferdinand Bloch-Bauer, who was a wealthy industrialist who sponsored the arts and supported Gustav Klimt. Adele Bloch-Bauer was the only model to be painted twice by Klimt; she also appeared in the much more... |
Gustav Klimt | 1912 | 2006-11-02 | 9 | Maria Altmann | Christie's, New York | |
| $98.5 | $71.5 | Portrait de l'artiste sans barbe Self-Portraits by Vincent van Gogh The dozens of self-portraits by Vincent van Gogh were an important part of his oeuvre as a painter. Vincent van Gogh created many self-portraits during his lifetime. Most probably, Van Gogh's self portraits are depicting the face as it appeared in the mirror he used to reproduce his face, i.e... |
Vincent van Gogh | 1889 | 1998-11-19 | 5 | Heirs of Jacques Koerfer | Christie's, New York | |
| $96.1 | $76.7 (£ Pound sterling The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence... 49.5) |
Massacre of the Innocents Massacre of the Innocents (Rubens) The Massacre of the Innocents is the title of either of two paintings by Peter Paul Rubens depicting an episode of the biblical Massacre of the Innocents as related in the Gospel of Matthew.-The lost masterpiece:... |
Peter Paul Rubens | 1611 | 2002-07-10 | 6 | an Austrian family | Kenneth Thomson | Sotheby's, London London London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its... |
| $89.9 | $86.3 | Triptych, 1976 | Francis Bacon | 1976 | 2008-05-14 | 13 | Moueix Family, Château Pétrus Château Pétrus Pétrus is a Bordeaux wine estate located in the Pomerol appellation near its eastern border to Saint-Émilion. An estate of limited size, it produces a limited production red wine almost entirely from Merlot grapes, on occasion with small amounts of Cabernet Franc, and produces no second wine... |
Roman Abramovich Roman Abramovich Roman Arkadyevich Abramovich is a Russian businessman and the main owner of the private investment company Millhouse LLC.In 2003, Abramovich was named Person of the Year by Expert, a Russian business magazine. He shared this title with Mikhail Khodorkovsky... |
Sotheby's, New York |
| $89.5 | $80.0 | False Start | Jasper Johns Jasper Johns Jasper Johns, Jr. is an American contemporary artist who works primarily in painting and printmaking.-Life:Born in Augusta, Georgia, Jasper Johns spent his early life in Allendale, South Carolina with his paternal grandparents after his parents' marriage failed... |
1959 | 2006-10-12 | 10 | David Geffen | Kenneth C. Griffin Kenneth C. Griffin Kenneth C. Griffin is an American hedge fund manager. He is the founder and CEO of Citadel LLC, a Chicago-based investment firm... |
Private sale via Richard Gray |
| $89.2 | $57 | A Wheatfield with Cypresses | Vincent van Gogh | 1889 | 1993-05 | 5 | son of Emil Georg Bührle Emil Georg Bührle Emil Georg Bührle was an industrialist, art collector and patron. His art collection is now housed in the Foundation E.G. Bührle.... |
Walter H. Annenberg | Private sale via Steven Mazoh |
| $88.4 | $49.3 (F300) | Les Noces de Pierrette Les Noces de Pierrette Les Noces de Pierrette is a painting by the Spanish artist and sculptor, Pablo Picasso. Painted in 1905, during Picasso's Blue Period; a time when the artist faced poverty and depression following the suicide of his friend Carlos Casagemas in 1901.-Sales history:The painting was acquired in 1907... |
Pablo Picasso | 1905 | 1989-11-30 | 3 | Fredrik Roos | Tomonori Tsurumaki | Binoche et Godeau Paris Paris Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region... |
| $87.2 | $47.85 | Yo, Picasso | Pablo Picasso | 1901 | 1989-05-09 | 2 | Wendell Cherry | Stavros Niarchos Stavros Niarchos Stavros Spyros Niarchos was a Greek shipping tycoon, sometimes known as "The Golden Greek." In 1952, Stavros Niarchos built the first supertankers capable of transporting large quantities of oil, and subsequently earned millions of dollars as global demand for his ships increased.- Early life :He... |
Sotheby's, New York |
| $86.8 | $80.0 | Turquoise Marilyn | Andy Warhol | 1964 | 2007-05-20 | 17 | Stefan Edlis | Steven A. Cohen Steven A. Cohen Steven "Steve" A. Cohen is an American hedge fund manager. He is the founder of SAC Capital Advisors, a Stamford, Connecticut-based hedge fund focusing primarily on equity market strategies.... |
Private sale via Larry Gagosian |
| $83.1 | $80.5 (£40.9) | Le Bassin aux Nymphéas Le Bassin Aux Nymphéas Le Bassin Aux Nymphéas is one of the series of Water Lilies paintings by French impressionist artist Claude Monet. It is an oil on canvas painting measuring 100.4 × 201 cm .-Exhibited:... |
Claude Monet Claude Monet Claude Monet was a founder of French impressionist painting, and the most consistent and prolific practitioner of the movement's philosophy of expressing one's perceptions before nature, especially as applied to plein-air landscape painting. . Retrieved 6 January 2007... |
1919 | 2008-06-24 | 19 | J. Irwin and Xenia S. Miller | Christie's, London | |
| $82.2 | $60.5 | Rideau, Cruchon et Compotier Rideau, Cruchon et Compotier Rideau, Cruchon et Compotier is a painting created in about 1893 to 1894 by French artist Paul Cézanne . It is considered the most expensive still life ever sold at an auction.... |
Paul Cézanne Paul Cézanne Paul Cézanne was a French artist and Post-Impressionist painter whose work laid the foundations of the transition from the 19th century conception of artistic endeavour to a new and radically different world of art in the 20th century. Cézanne can be said to form the bridge between late 19th... |
1894 | 1999-05-10 | 9 | Whitney Family John Hay Whitney John Hay Whitney , colloquially known as "Jock" Whitney, was U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom, publisher of the New York Herald Tribune, and a member of the Whitney family.-Family:... |
Sotheby's, New York | |
| $79.9 | $39.7 (£24.75) | Vase with Fifteen Sunflowers Sunflowers (series of paintings) Sunflowers are the subject of two series of still life paintings by the Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh. The earlier series executed in Paris in 1887 gives the flowers lying on the ground, while the second set executed a year later in Arles shows bouquets of sunflowers in a vase... |
Vincent van Gogh | 1888 | 1987-03-30 | 1 | daughter-in-law of Chester Beatty | Yasuo Goto, Yasuda Comp. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Company is a Japanese life insurance company, headquartered in Tokyo and created in 2004 from the merger of Meiji Life and Yasuda Life. The company is one of the oldest and largest insurers in Japan.-History:... |
Christie's, London |
| $79.1 | $72.8 | White Center (Yellow, Pink and Lavender on Rose) White Center (Yellow, Pink and Lavender on Rose) White Center is an abstract painting by Mark Rothko completed in 1950.-2007 sale:The work was sold in May 2007 by Sotheby's on behalf of David Rockefeller to the Royal family of Qatar; Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, and his wife, Sheikha Mozah bint Nasser Al-Missned... |
Mark Rothko Mark Rothko Mark Rothko, born Marcus Rothkowitz , was a Russian-born American painter. He is classified as an abstract expressionist, although he himself rejected this label, and even resisted classification as an "abstract painter".- Childhood :Mark Rothko was born in Dvinsk, Vitebsk Province, Russian... |
1950 | 2007-05-15 | 20 | David Rockefeller, Sr. | Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani Hamad bin Khalifa Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani is the ruling Emir of the State of Qatar since 1995.Sheikh Hamad was the appointed Heir Apparent of Qatar between 1977 and 1995 and at the same time Minister of Defense. In the early 1980s he led the Supreme Planning Council, which sets the Qatar's basic economic... |
Sotheby's, New York |
| $77.8 | $71.7 | Green Car Crash (Green Burning Car I) | Andy Warhol Andy Warhol Andrew Warhola , known as Andy Warhol, was an American painter, printmaker, and filmmaker who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art... |
1963 | 2007-05-16 | 21 | Private collection, Zürich | Philip Niarchos | Christie's, New York |
| $75.1 | $70.6 (£50) | Diana and Actaeon Diana and Actaeon (Titian) Diana and Actaeon is a painting by the Italian Renaissance master Titian, finished in 1556–1559, and is considered amongst Titian's greatest works. It portrays the moment in which the goddess Diana meets Actaeon. In 2008–2009, the National Gallery, London and National Gallery of Scotland... |
Titian Titian Tiziano Vecelli or Tiziano Vecellio Tiziano Vecelli or Tiziano Vecellio Tiziano Vecelli or Tiziano Vecellio (c. 1488/1490 – 27 August 1576 better known as Titian was an Italian painter, the most important member of the 16th-century Venetian school. He was born in Pieve di Cadore, near... |
1556–1559 | 2009-02-01 | 25 | Duke of Sutherland Francis Egerton, 7th Duke of Sutherland Francis Ronald Egerton, 7th Duke of Sutherland , known as Francis Egerton until 2000, is a British peer.Sutherland is the son of Cyril Reginald Egerton, the grandson of Francis Egerton, 3rd Earl of Ellesmere. His mother was Mary, daughter of Sir Ronald Campbell... |
National Galleries of Scotland National Galleries of Scotland The National Galleries of Scotland are the five national galleries of Scotland and two partner galleries. It is one of the country's National Collections.-List of national galleries:* The National Gallery of Scotland* The Royal Scottish Academy Building... & National Gallery, London National Gallery, London The National Gallery is an art museum on Trafalgar Square, London, United Kingdom. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The gallery is an exempt charity, and a non-departmental public body of the Department for Culture, Media... |
Private sale |
| $74.3 | $68 | The Gross Clinic The Gross Clinic The Gross Clinic, or, The Clinic of Dr. Gross, is an 1875 painting by American artist Thomas Eakins. It is oil on canvas and measures by . Dr. Samuel D. Gross, a seventy-year-old professor dressed in a black frock coat, lectures a group of Jefferson Medical College students... |
Thomas Eakins Thomas Eakins Thomas Cowperthwait Eakins was an American realist painter, photographer, sculptor, and fine arts educator... |
1875 | 2007-04-12 | 20 | Thomas Jefferson University Thomas Jefferson University Thomas Jefferson University is a private health sciences university in Center City, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the United States. The university consists of six constituent colleges and schools, Jefferson Medical College, Jefferson College of Graduate Studies, Jefferson School of Health... |
Philadelphia Museum of Art Philadelphia Museum of Art The Philadelphia Museum of Art is among the largest art museums in the United States. It is located at the west end of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia's Fairmount Park. The Museum was established in 1876 in conjunction with the Centennial Exposition of the same year... |
Private sale. |
| $73.0 | $40.7 | Au Lapin Agile | Pablo Picasso | 1904 | 1989-11-27 | 5 | daughter of Joan Whitney Payson Joan Whitney Payson Joan Whitney Payson was an American heiress, businesswoman, philanthropist, patron of the arts and art collector, and a member of the prominent Whitney family... |
Walter H. Annenberg | Sotheby's, New York |
| $72.3 | $38.5 (£20.9) | Acrobate et jeune Arlequin | Pablo Picasso | 1905 | 1988-11-28 | 3 | heir of Roger Janssen? | Mitsukoshi Mitsukoshi is an international department store chain with headquarters in Tokyo, Japan. Mitsukoshi Ltd. has amalgamated with Isetan Co.,Ltd ,and changed company name to Isetan Mitsukoshi Ltd.- History :... |
Christie's, London |
| $71.3 | $55.0 | Femme aux Bras Croisés Femme aux Bras Croisés Femme aux Bras Croisés , is a painting by Pablo Picasso done in 1902 during his Blue Period. The subject of the painting is unknown, but she may be an inmate of the Saint-Lazare hospital-prison in Paris.... |
Pablo Picasso | 1902 | 2000-11-08 | 13 | McCormick family, Chicago | Christie's, New York | |
| $71.3 | $69.0 | Nude Sitting on a Divan Nude Sitting on a Divan Nude Sitting on a Divan is an oil on canvas painting by Italian artist Amedeo Modigliani depicting a partially draped woman seated with crossed legs against a warm red background. The work was one of a series of nudes painted by Modigliani in 1917 that created a sensation when exhibited in Paris... ("La Belle Romaine") |
Amedeo Modigliani Amedeo Modigliani Amedeo Clemente Modigliani was an Italian painter and sculptor who worked mainly in France. Primarily a figurative artist, he became known for paintings and sculptures in a modern style characterized by mask-like faces and elongation of form... |
1917 | 2010-11-09 | 31 | Halit Cingillioğlu | Sotheby's, New York | |
| $71.0 | $63.5 | Police Gazette | Willem de Kooning | 1955 | 2006-10-12 | 19 | David Geffen | Steven A. Cohen | Private sale via Richard Gray Gallery |
| $70.3 | $70.3 (€50) | Darmstadt Madonna Darmstadt Madonna The Darmstadt Madonna is an oil painting by Hans Holbein the Younger. Completed in 1526 in Basel, the work shows the Bürgermeister of Basel Jakob Meyer zum Hasen, his first wife , his current wife, and his daughter grouped around the Madonna and infant Jesus... |
Hans Holbein Hans Holbein Hans Holbein may refer to two German painters:* Hans Holbein the Elder father of Hans the Younger* Hans Holbein the Younger , better known of the two, court artist to King Henry VIII of England... |
1526 | 2011-07-12 | 33 | Donatus, Hereditary Prince of Hesse | Reinhold Würth Reinhold Würth Reinhold Würth is a German businessman. He took over his father's tiny wholesale screw business at 19 and built it into the Adolf Würth Group, which posted record $8.2 billion in sales in 2004.- Honors and awards :... |
Private sale via Christoph Graf Douglas |
| $67.6 | $48.4 | Le Rêve Le Rêve (painting) Le Rêve is a 1932 oil painting by Pablo Picasso, then 50 years old, portraying his 24-year-old mistress Marie-Thérèse Walter. It is said to have been painted in one afternoon, on 24 January 1932... |
Pablo Picasso | 1932 | 1997-11-10 | 11 | Ganz family Victor Ganz Victor Ganz was one of the most important collectors of contemporary art in the 20th century.- Biography :Victor Wendell Ganz was born in New York on April 7, 1913. The son of Saul Ganz and his wife, the former Ruth Wendell, he attended public schools and the City College of New York before going... |
Wolfgang Flöttl | Christie's, New York. |
| $66.8 | $47.5 | Peasant Woman Against a Background of Wheat Peasant Woman Against a Background of Wheat Peasant Woman Against a Background of Wheat is an 1890 painting by Vincent van Gogh. Van Gogh went on to paint several versions of this painting.The painting has changed hands several times.In 1997, Stephen Wynn paid $47.5 million for the painting.... |
Vincent van Gogh | 1890 | 1997 | 11 | Stephen Wynn | Private sale via Acquavella Galleries Inc., New York | |
| $66.5 | $49.6 | Femme assise dans un jardin | Pablo Picasso | 1938 | 1999-11-10 | 15 | Robert Saidenberg | Sotheby's, New York | |
| $65.5 | $65.5 (¥425.5) | Eagle Standing on Pine Tree | Qi Baishi Qi Baishi Qi Baishi was an influential Chinese painter.Born to a peasant family from Xiangtan, Hunan, Qi became a carpenter at 14, and learned to paint by himself. After he turned 40, he traveled, visiting various scenic spots in China... |
1946 | 2011-05-22 | 36 | Liu Yiqian | Hunan TV & Broadcast Intermediary Co | China Guardian Auctions |
| $65.5 | $63.4 | Men in Her Life | Andy Warhol | 1962 | 2010-11-08 | 35 | Jose Mugrabi Jose Mugrabi -Biography:Jose Mugrabi was born to a Syrian-Jewish family in Jerusalem, Israel. He grew up in the Mahane Yehuda neighborhood. His family managed a grocery store in Nahalat Ahim. At the age of 16, he went to Colombia to stay with relatives and became involved in the textile business. Starting as... |
Phillips de Pury & Company Phillips de Pury & Company Phillips de Pury & Company is an auction house and art dealership, with offices in London, New York, Geneva, Berlin, Brussels, Los Angeles, Milan, Munich and Paris. Phillips conducts auctions in New York, London and Geneva in the areas of Contemporary Art, Photography, 20-21st Century Design, Art... |
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| $64.2 | $35.2 | Portrait of a Halberdier | Pontormo Pontormo Jacopo Carucci , usually known as Jacopo da Pontormo, Jacopo Pontormo or simply Pontormo, was an Italian Mannerist painter and portraitist from the Florentine school. His work represents a profound stylistic shift from the calm perspectival regularity that characterized the art of the Florentine... |
1537 | 1989-05-31 | 5 | Chauncey Devereaux Stillman | Getty Museum | Christie's, New York |
| $63.8 | $60.0 | Suprematist Composition Suprematist Composition Suprematist Composition is a painting by Kazimir Malevich, a Russian painter known as a pioneer of geometric abstract art... |
Kazimir Malevich Kazimir Malevich Kazimir Severinovich Malevich was a Russian painter and art theoretician, born of ethnic Polish parents. He was a pioneer of geometric abstract art and the originator of the Avant-garde Suprematist movement.-Early life:... |
1916 | 2008-11-03 | 34 | Heirs of Kazimir Malevich | Sotheby's, New York | |
| $62.1 | $62.1 (¥402.5) | Zhichuan Resettlement | Wang Meng Wang Meng (artist) Wang Meng was a Chinese painter during the Yuan Dynasty. He was born in Huzhou , now known as Wuxing , Zhejiang.... |
c.1350 | 2011-06-04 | 40 | Beijing Poly Auction | ||
| $61.7 | $61.7 | 1949-A-No.1 | Clyfford Still Clyfford Still Clyfford Still was an American painter, and one of the leading figures of Abstract Expressionism.-Biography:... |
1949 | 2011-11-09 | 42 | City and County of Denver | Sotheby's, New York |
See also
- Cultural Commodification
- List of most expensive sculptures