The Most Expensive Paintings Ever Sold
Tuesday, March 19, 2024
Home  >  Beams of light  >  Studio lights  >  Art  >  The Most Expensive Paintings Ever Sold

User Rating: 4 / 5

Star ActiveStar ActiveStar ActiveStar ActiveStar Inactive
 

Article Index

 

 Leonardo da Vinci’s painting, “Saviour of the World,” sold for $450,312,500 at auction on November 15, 2017, Christie’s said. The price, which includes a buyer’s premium, makes it “the most expensive painting ever sold at auction,” the auction house said in a statement. 

 

Louvre Abu Dhabi with Reflection

The Louvre Branch in Abu Dhabi will House the "Salvato Mundi" Masterpiece

 

A Saudi prince has been revealed as the mystery buyer of Leonardo da Vinci’s painting Salvator Mundi, or “Savior of the World,” at an auctionFollowing is a List of Paintings that Have Been Sold for the Highest Amounts (as of December, 2017):

 

Highest Price Ever Paid

$450,300,000.00

Salvator Mundi

Leonardo Da Vinci (c 1500)

Salvator Mundi

 

The New York Times reports the painting was sold—for a record $450.3 million—to Bader bin Abdullah bin Mohammed bin Farhan al-Saud, who is not known to be an art collector. Bader is close with Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, who has been leading an anti-corruption purge in the country. The Louvre branch in Abu Dhabi will house the painting, the museum said.

 


$300,000,000.00

Interchange

Willem de Kooning 1955

Interchange William de Kooning 1955

 

Interchange, also known as Interchanged, is a painting by abstract expressionist painter Willem de Kooning. It measures 200.7 by 175.3 centimetres (79.0 by 69.0 in) and was completed in 1955. In September 2015, it was sold by the David Geffen Foundation to Kenneth C. Griffin for $300 million, the highest price for a painting to date.

 

 

$300,000,000.00

When Will You Marry? 1892

Paul Gauguin

Paul Gauguin Whe Will You Marry Me

 

When Will You Marry? (Tahitian: Nafea faa ipoipo) is an oil painting from 1892 by the French Post-Impressionist artist Paul Gauguin. On loan to the Kunstmuseum in Basel, Switzerland for nearly a half-century, it was sold privately by the family of Rudolf Staechelin to Sheikha Al-Mayassa bint Hamad Al-Thani, in February 2015 for close to US $300 million (£197 million), the highest price ever paid for a work of art.

$250,000,000.00

"The Card Players", 1892/93

Paul Cezanne

cezanne-card-players-private-collection

 

Private sale, 2011. Seller: George Embiricos. Buyer: Royal Family of Qatar. This is the last version of this famous composition by Paul Cézanne still in private hands. The fabulous psychological intensity in the faces of the players make this painting a masterpiece of post-impressionist art.

$186,000,000.00

No 6 (Violet, Green and Red) 1951

Mark Rotko

No_6_Violet_Green_and_Red_Mark_Rothko

 

"Violet, Green and Red," created by Mark Rothko (1903 – 1970) during a period of depression, is devoid of subject matter, conveying an intimate, intense message solely through the powerful use of color. Rothko's revolutionary form of Abstractionism featured vibrant blocks of color painted on huge canvases that made viewers feel like part of the artwork. Believing that good paintings achieved substance through underlying concepts of mortality and spirituality, Rothko gave this piece a vague name so viewers' interpretation of it would be their own.

$180,000,000.00

Pendant portraits of Maerten Soolmans and Oopjen Coppit, 1634

Rembrandt

Screen_Shot_2016-02-08_at_5.13.41_PM           Screen_Shot_2016-02-08_at_5.13.52_PM

 

The Pendant portraits of Maerten Soolmans and Oopjen Coppit are a pair of full-length wedding portraits by Rembrandt. Formerly owned by the Rothschild family, they became jointly owned by the Louvre Museum and the Rijksmuseum in 2015 after both museums managed to contribute half of the purchase price of €160 million, a record for works by Rembrandt.

 

$179,400,000.00

Les Femmes d'Alger ("Version O") 1955

Pablo Picasso

Screen_Shot_2016-02-08_at_5.22.32_PM

 

Les Femmes d'Alger (Women of Algiers) is a series of 15 paintings and numerous drawings by the Spanish cubist artist Pablo Picasso. The series was inspired by Eugène Delacroix's 1834 painting The Women of Algiers in their Apartment (French: Femmes d'Alger dans leur appartement). The series is one of several painted by Picasso in tribute to artists that he admired.

 

$170,405,000.00

Red Nude, 1917

Amadeo Modigliani

Screen_Shot_2016-02-08_at_5.28.45_PM

 

Nu couché (also known in English as Red Nude or Reclining Nude is a 1917 oil on canvas painting by the Italian artist Amedeo Modigliani. It is one of his most widely reproduced and exhibited paintings. The painting realized $170,405,000 at a Christie's New York sale on 9 November 2015, a record for a Modigliani painting and placing it high among the most expensive paintings ever sold. The purchaser was the Chinese businessman Liu Yiqian. 

 

$155,000,000.00

"La Rêve (The Dream)", 1932

Pablo Picasso

picasso-le-reve

 

Private sale, 2013. Seller: Steve Wynn. Buyer: Steven A. Cohen "La Rêve (The Dream)" is one of Picasso's most sensual and famous paintings, depicting her lover Marie-Therese Walter sitting on a red armchair with her eyes closed. In 2006, Steve Wynn agreed to sell the painting to Steven Cohen for $139 million, but the sale was cancelled when Mr. Wynn accidentally damaged the work.

 

$140,000,000.00

Number 5

Jackson Pollock

most_expensive_1_Pollack_vert

 

This stunning "drip" by Jackson Pollock is currently the most expensive painting ever sold. The exorbitant sum demonstrates not only the strenght of the Art market, but also the increasing interest for the contemporary works of Art. Private sale, 2006. Seller: David Geffen. Buyer: Unknown (rumoured to be Mexican businessman David Martinez).

 

La Gioconda  Mona Lisa

Leonardo Da Vinci

Mona_Lisa

 

The world's most famous paintings, especially old master works done before 1800, are generally owned by museums, which very rarely sell them, and as such, they are quite literally priceless. The Mona Lisa also known as La Gioconda or La Joconde, or Portrait of Lisa Gherardini, wife of Francesco del Giocondo, was completed circa 1503–1519 and it is on permanent display at the Musée du Louvre in Paris. Guinness World Records lists the Mona Lisa as having the highest insurance value for a painting in history. It was assessed at US$100 million on December 14, 1962, before the painting toured the United States for several months. However, the Louvre chose to spend the money that would have been spent on the insurance premium on security instead. Taking inflation into account, the 1962 value would be around US$743 million in 2011.

 

$137,000.00

Woman III

Willien de Kulling

most_expensive_2

 

Pollock first. De Kooning second. The inmediate conclusion is that American abstract expressionism has displaced Impressionism as the most sought-after Art period. This painting is the only "Woman" by Willem de Kooning still in private hands. One of this women -described by T. Hess as "black goddesses."  Private sale, 2006. Seller: David Geffen. Buyer: Steven Cohen.

  

$135,000.000.00

Portrait of Adele Bloch Bauer

Gustav Klimpt

most_expensive_3

 

The acquisition of this iconic work by cosmetic magnate Ronald Lauder caused a shock in the Art world, not only for the spectacular sum paid for it, but also for the way it was sold, far away from the noisy auction houses. The painting was part of a group of five canvases which had been recently returned to the heirs of Ferdinand Bloch-Bauer. The Nazis confiscated his paintings during the World War II, and after the war, the canvases were placed at the National Gallery of Austria in 1948. Private sale, 2006. Buyer: Ronald Lauder.

 

 $119,900,000.00

Edvard Munch

"The Scream", 1895

munch-scream-auction

 

Sotheby's New York , May 2012. Buyer: anonymous. This iconic work is the most expensive painting ever sold at auction. The work is the most colorful of the four versions of Edvard Munch's masterpiece 'The Scream', and the only one still in private hands.

 

$106,500,000.00

Nude, Green Leaves and Bust, 1932

Pablo Picaso

most_expensive_4 

 

This sensual and colorful masterpiece by Picasso is the most expensive painting ever sold at auction. The work, formerly in the collection of Mrs. Sidney F. Brody, had been never exhibited in public since 1961. Sold at Christie's New York , May 2010. Buyer: anonymous.

 

$104,000,200.00

Garcon A La Pipe

Pablo Picaso

most_expensive_7

 

The sale of this young smoker was a milestone in the Art auctions world. It broke the record that Vincent van Gogh held since 1990, and it was the first time that the $100 million barrier was broken. Although the name of the buyer was not revealed, some sources says that he could be Guido Barilla, the Italian pasta magnate.  Sold at Sotheby's New York , May 2004. Buyer: anonymous.

 

$100,000,000.00

Eight Elvises

Andy Warhol

most_expensive_8

 

This unique work by Warhol, measuring over 12 feet long, had been at the collection of Roman collector Annibale Berlingieri for over 40 years. It surpassed the previous world record for a work by Warhol, the $71.7 million paid at Christie's New York in 2007 for "Green Car Crash (Green Burning Car I)." Private sale, 2008. Buyer: anonymous.

 

$95,200,000.00

Dora Maar Au Chat

Pablo Picaso

most_expensive_9

 

Dora Maar (1907-1997) met Picasso in 1930, and their relationship lasted until 1946. A native from Paris, raised in Argentina and therefore fluent in Spanish, Maar was one of Picasso's favourite models. This painting, measuring 130- 97 cm, was recently rediscovered and authenticated by Picasso's daughter, Maya Widmaier Picasso.  Sold at Sotheby's New York , May 2006. Buyer: anonymous.

 

$92,000,000.00

Diana and Callisto

Titian

most_expensive_10 

 

This work have all the splendour and glory of the best of Titian's 'painted poetries'. It was previously at the Duke of Sutherland collection, who offered it to the U.K. It has a "sister picture", "Diana and Callisto."  Private sale, February 2009. Buyer: United Kingdom.

 

$87,936,000.00

Adele Block Bauer II

Gustav Klimpt

Screen_Shot_2016-02-08_at_5.46.11_PM

 

Sold only a few months later than Klimt's first version of Adele, this extremely appealing canvas was the star lot in a highly succesful auction in which four works by Klimt -including this- totalled a stunning $192 million. Sold at Christie's New York, November 2006. Buyer: unknown.

 

$86,300,000.00

Triptych, 1976

Francis Bacon

most_expensive_12

 

Francis Bacon is one of the most sought-after names in the Art market, and this work easily surpassed its impressive $70 million pre-sale estimate. Sold at Sotheby's New York , May 2008. Buyer: European private.