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Embark on a journey through the opulent realm of art as we unveil the most expensive paintings ever sold. From timeless masterpieces to contemporary wonders, this curated list transcends eras, capturing the essence of human creativity and the staggering value placed on exceptional works of art. These canvases, each a testament to the genius of renowned artists, have not only adorned the walls of prestigious galleries but have also commanded astronomical prices in the global art market. Prepare to be captivated by the extraordinary beauty and unparalleled allure that define the world's most coveted and financially significant artworks.
Mark Rothko, No 1 (Royal Red and Blue)
No 1 (Royal Red and Blue) is a 1954 Color Field painting by the Abstract expressionist artist Mark Rothko. In November 2012, the painting sold for US$75.1 million (£47.2m) at a Sotheby's auction
Peter Paul Ruben, Massacre of the Innocents
“Massacre of the Innocents” by Peter Paul Rubens depicts an episode from the biblical Massacre in Bethlehem, as told in the Gospel of Matthew. According to the Gospel, Herod the Great, the Roman appointed King of the Jews, ordered the execution of all male children two years old and under in the vicinity of Bethlehem.
The Massacre of the Innocents was sold at auction in 2002 for a record £49.5 million or $76.7 million at Sotheby's, London and donated by the buyer, Canadian businessman Kenneth Thompson, to the Art Gallery of Ontario.
Pierre-Auguste Renoir – Le Moulin de la Galette
Bal du moulin de la Galette is an 1876 painting by French artist Pierre-Auguste Renoir. It is housed at the Musée d'Orsay in Paris and is one of Impressionism's most celebrated masterpieces. The painting depicts a typical Sunday afternoon at the original Moulin de la Galette in the district of Montmartre in Paris.
Sold at Sotheby's New York for $78,100,000 in May 1990.
Vincent van Gogh – Portrait of Dr. Gachet
Portrait of Dr. Gachet is one of the most revered paintings by the Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh. It depicts Dr. Paul Gachet, a homeopathic doctor and artist with whom van Gogh resided following a spell in an asylum at Saint-Rémy-de-Provence. Gachet took care of Van Gogh during the final months of his life.
Sold at Christie's in New York on May 15, 1990 for $82,500,000.
Barnett Newman, Black Fire I (1961)
Black Fire I is a sublime Abstract Expressionist masterpiece that perfectly captures Barnett Newman's radically reductive and uncompromising aesthetic. It represents a significant group of works painted in black pigment on exposed canvas that Newman created between 1958-1966, of which only three remain in private collections.
Sold at Christies auction in 2014, for $84.2 million
Francis Bacon, Triptych (1976)
Triptych, is a large triptych painted by the British artist Francis Bacon in 1976. It comprises three oil and pastel paintings on canvas. It is the second most expensive Bacon ever sold, after Three Studies of Lucian Freud, being auctioned for US$86 million in 2008
Mark Rothko, Orange, Red, Yellow (1961)
Orange, Red, Yellow is a 1961 Color Field painting by Mark Rothko. On May 8, 2012, it was sold at Christie's from the estate of David Pincus for $86,882,500, a record nominal price for post-war contemporary art at public auction.
Robert Rauschenberg, Buffalo II (1964)
One of the largest of Robert Rauschenberg’s iconic silkscreen paintings, Buffalo II is an epic work which brings together the world of art and politics. During a particularly fertile period between 1962 and 1964, Rauschenberg produced a series of canvases in which he assembled seemingly disparate images—ranging from the familiar to the mysterious—to capture the social, political and artistic zeitgeist of the age. John F. Kennedy, a bald eagle, the Coca-Cola logo, space travel and the downtown landscape are all featured here, yet Rauschenberg’s silkscreen paintings are as much about artistic innovation and the way we look as they are about capturing the cacophony of modern urban life in the 1960s.
Sold at Christies for $88,805,000 in May 2019.
David Hockney, Portrait of an Artist (1972)
Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures) is a large acrylic-on-canvas pop art painting by British artist David Hockney, completed in May 1972. It measures 7 ft × 10 ft, and depicts two figures: one swimming underwater and one clothed male figure looking down at the swimmer.
On 15 November 2018, in nine minutes of bidding, it was sold to an unknown buyer for $90.3 million at Christie's auction house in New York City, setting an auction record for a living artist.
Edward Hopper, Chop Suey (1929)
Chop Suey is an oil painting on canvas by the American artist Edward Hopper. The foreground of the work portrays two women in conversation at a restaurant. In November 2018, it was sold at $92 million, a record price for the artist's work.
Sandro Botticelli, Portrait of a Young Man Holding a Roundel (1480)
The Portrait of a Young Man Holding a Roundel is a painting attributed to Sandro Botticelli. Due to its style it has been estimated to have been painted around 1480.
Sold at Sotheby's for $92m in 2021.
Pablo Picasso, Dora Maar with Cat (1941)
Dora Maar au Chat is an oil-on-canvas painting by Pablo Picasso. It was painted in 1941 and depicts Dora Maar, the artist's lover, seated on a chair with a small cat perched on her shoulders.
Sold at at Sotheby's for $95.2m in 2006.
Roy Lichtenstein, Nurse (1964)
Nurse is a painting by American pop art painter Roy Lichtenstein made in 1964. Nurse was purchased on November 9, 2015 by an anonymous buyer for $95,365,000, the then-record price for a piece by an American pop art painter.
Pablo Picasso, Garcon a la Pipe (1905)
Garçon à la Pipe is an oil on canvas 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 area of Paris.
On May 5, 2004 the painting was sold for US$104,168,000 at Sotheby's auction in New York City.
Andy Warhol, Silver Car Crash (Double Disaster) (1963)
Silver Car Crash (Double Disaster) is a 1963 serigraph by the American artist Andy Warhol. In November 2013, it sold for $105 million at NYC auction, setting a new highest price for a work by Warhol
Pablo Picasso, Nude, Green Leaves and Bust (1932)
Nude, Green Leaves and Bust is a 1932 oil on canvas painting by Pablo Picasso, featuring his mistress Marie-Thérèse Walter. The painting was in the personal collection of Los Angeles art collectors Sidney and Frances Brody for nearly six decades.
Sold at Christies in 2010 for $106,482,500
Jean-Michel Basquiat, Untitled
Untitled is a painting created by American artist Jean-Michel Basquiat in 1982. The artwork, which depicts a skull, is among the most expensive paintings ever. In May 2017, it sold for $110.5 million at Sotheby's, the highest price ever paid at auction for artwork by an American artist in a public sale.
Pablo Picasso, Young Girl with a Flower Basket
Young Girl with a Flower Basket is a 1905 oil on canvas painting by Pablo Picasso from his Rose Period. The painting depicts a Parisian street girl, named "Linda", whose fate is unknown.
Sold for $115 million at Christie's on 8 May 2018
Edvard Munch, The Scream (1895)
The Scream is a composition created by Norwegian artist Edvard Munch in 1893. The Norwegian name of the piece is Skrik (Scream), and the German title under which it was first exhibited is Der Schrei der Natur (The Scream of Nature). The agonized face in the painting has become one of the most iconic images of art, seen as symbolizing the anxiety of the human condition. Munch's work, including The Scream, had a formative influence on the Expressionist movement.
Sold at Sotheby's in London for a record price of nearly US$120 million at auction on 2 May 2012
Gustav Klimt, Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I
Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I is a painting by Gustav Klimt, completed between 1903 and 1907. The portrait was commissioned by the sitter's husband, Ferdinand Bloch-Bauer, a Jewish banker and sugar producer. The painting was stolen by the Nazis in 1941 and displayed at the Österreichische Galerie Belvedere
In June 2006 cosmetics magnate Ronald Lauder purchased Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I for $135 million — then the highest price ever paid for a painting — for display in Manhattan's Neue Galerie, a sale brokered by Christie's.
Willem de Kooning, Woman III
Woman III is a 1953 painting by abstract expressionist painter Willem de Kooning. It is one of a series of six Women paintings done by de Kooning in the early 1950's, which were first exhibited at the Sidney Janis gallery in 1953.
In November 2006, the painting was sold by Geffen to billionaire Steven A. Cohen for $137.5 million
Jackson Pollock, No. 5, (1948)
No. 5, 1948 is a 1948 painting by Jackson Pollock, an American painter known for his contributions to the abstract expressionist movement. It was sold on 22 May 2006 for $140 million, a new mark for highest ever price for a painting, not surpassed until April 2011.
Qi Baishi,Twelve Landscape Screens (1925)
The painter Qi Baishi became the first Chinese artist to join the £100 million club in December 2017. The week before Christmas, a set of ink brush panels entitled Twelve Landscape Screens (1925), sold for a staggering 931.5 million yuan (well over £100m.) at the Poly Beijing auction house. It is the highest price ever paid for a work of Chinese art at auction.
Francis Bacon, Three Studies of Lucian Freud (1969)
Three Studies of Lucian Freud is a 1969 oil-on-canvas triptych by the Irish-born British painter Francis Bacon, depicting artist Lucian Freud. It was sold in November 2013 for US$142.4 million, which at the time was the highest price attained at auction for a work of art when not factoring in inflation.
Gustav Klimt, Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer II
Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer II is a 1912 painting by Gustav Klimt. The work is a portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer, a Vienna socialite who was a patron and close friend of Klimt. In 1907, Klimt completed an earlier portrait of Bloch-Bauer.
Sold for $150 million in 2016
Pablo Picasso, Le Rêve
Le Rêve is a 1932 oil on canvas painting by Pablo Picasso, then 50 years old, portraying his 22-year-old mistress Marie-Thérèse Walter. It is said to have been painted in one afternoon, on 24 January 1932.
The painting was sold privately for $155 million on March 26, 2013, and is known for its contrasted colours and oversimplified outlines as it belongs to Picasso's period of distorted depictions.
Amedeo Modigliani, Nu couché (sur le côté gauche)
Nu couché (sur le côté gauche) is a 1917 painting by Amedeo Modigliani. The painting was included in a 2017/2018 Tate Modern exhibition of Modigliani's works. The painting was sold by auction by Sotheby's in April 2018 for $157.2 Million
Roy Lichtenstein, Masterpiece
Masterpiece is a 1962 pop art painting by Roy Lichtenstein that uses his classic Ben-Day dots and narrative content contained within a speech balloon. In 2017, the painting sold for $165 million
Modigliani, Reclining Nude ("Nu Couche") (1917-18)
Reclining Nude is a painting by Italian artist Amedeo Modigliani. Done in oil on canvas in 1917, the painting was one of Modigliani's celebrated series of nudes. The work is in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Sold at Sotheby's for $170.4m in 2015
Pablo Picasso, Les femmes d'Alger (1955)
€160.9 million was the amount that has made Les femmes d’Alger (Version ‘O’) by Pablo Picasso become the most expensive painting ever auctioned. The auction took place at Christie’s in New York in 2015
Rembrandt, Pendant portraits of Maerten Soolmans and Oopjen Coppit
The pendant portraits of Maerten Soolmans and Oopjen Coppit are a pair of full-length wedding portraits by Rembrandt. They were painted on the occasion of the marriage of Maerten Soolmans and Oopjen Coppit in 1634. 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
Mark Rothko, No. 6 (Violet, Green and Red)
No. 6 (Violet, Green and Red) is a 1951 painting by the Latvian-American abstract expressionist artist Mark Rothko. It was painted in 1951. In common with Rothko's other works from this period, No. 6 consists of large expanses of colour delineated by uneven, hazy shades.
In 2014, Rothko's painting was sold for an astounding $186 million at Christie's auction house.
Jackson Pollock, Number 17A
Number 17A is an abstract expressionist painting by American painter Jackson Pollock, from 1948. The painting is oil paint on fiberboard and is a drip painting, created by splashing paint onto a horizontal surface. It was painted a year after Jackson Pollock introduced his drip technique.
Sold privately for $200m in 2015.
Paul Gauguin, Nafea Faa Ipoipo
When Will You Marry? (Nafea Faa Ipoipo) is an oil painting from 1892 by the French Post-Impressionist artist Paul Gauguin. Sold for $210m in 2015.
Paul Cézanne, The Card Players
The Card Players is a series of oil paintings by 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, the number of players, and the setting in which the game takes place.
Sold for more than $250 million in 2011.
Willem de Kooning, Interchange
Interchange, also known as Interchanged, is an 1955 abstract expressionist oil painting on canvas by Dutch-American painter Willem de Kooning. Like Jackson Pollock, de Kooning was one of the early artists of the abstract expressionism movement, the first American modern art movement
The painting was sold for $300 million at a private sale in 2015
Leonardo da Vinci, Salvator Mundi (c.1500)
The painting depicts Jesus Christ in an anachronistic blue Renaissance dress, making the sign of the cross with his right hand, while holding a transparent, non-refracting crystal orb in his left, signaling his role as Salvator Mundi and representing the 'celestial sphere' of the heavens.
Salvator Mundi, which has been attributed to Leonardo da Vinci, sold for $450.3m with fees at Christie's New York, the highest price ever paid at auction.
In the tapestry of artistic excellence and financial intrigue, these paintings stand as testaments to the enduring allure of fine art. Each stroke of the brush and every calculated bid has woven a narrative of cultural significance and unparalleled value. As we conclude this exploration of the most expensive paintings ever sold, may these masterpieces continue to inspire awe, sparking conversations about the intersection of creativity, commerce, and the everlasting impact of art on our world.
