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Top ten most expensive paintings ever sold
Cezanne’s The Card Players tops list of most valuable paintings in the world
$156.8m No 5, 1948 by Jackson PollocknnJackson Pollock’s 8ft by 4ft fiberboard painting, featuring thick layers of brown and yellow paint, was originally owned by Samuel Irving Newhouse Jr. and displayed at the Museum of Modern Art before being sold to David Green. In 2006 it was allegedly sold to Mexican lawyer David Martinez though the sale has been denied by his attorneys.
$154m Woman III Willem de KooningnnDuring the 1970s and 1994 this painting featured in Tehran’s Museum of Contemporary Art but after the revolution it was banned under the new regime’s strict rules. In 1994, it was quietly acquired by David Geffen before being sold to billionaire Steven A Cohen, making it the world’s most expensive sale of a painting at the time.
$150.2m Portrait of Adele Bloch- Bauer I by Gustav KlimtnnGustav Klimt’s 1907 Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I was acquired by Ronald Lauder, son of Estee Lauder, for his Neue Galerie in New York City in June 2006. The billionaire businessman and philanthropist acquired the painting for $135m at the time, making it the most expensive painting in the world for four months. It has been on display in his gallery ever since.
$144.1m Portrait of Dr. Gachet by Vincent van GoghnnImpressionist Vincent van Gough’s 1890 Portrait of Dr. Gachet is one of the most revered paintings by the Dutch artist. The painting reached a then-record price of $82.5m when it was sold at a 1990 New York auction to a Tokyo art dealer on behalf of an unknown client. The sale topped the previous champion, van Gogh’s Irises, by some $30m.
$136.4m Bal du moulin de la Galette by Pierre-Auguste RenoirnnPierre-Auguste Renoir’s 1876 Bal du moulin de la Galette (also known as Dance at Le moulin de la Galette) was sold at a 1990 Sotheby’s auction to Japanese businessman Ryoei Saito for $78m, making it one of the top most expensive artworks ever sold. Saito’s companies then ran into financial difficulty and it was sold by his bankers several years later. The painting is now believed to be in the hands of a Swiss art collector. As of Dec 2011, the painting is sixth (when adjusted for the consumer price index).
$124.3 Garcon a la pipe by Pablo PicassonnPablo Picasso’s 1905 “Boy with a pipe” was painted when he was just 24-years old. In 2004, the painting was sold for $104.2m at a Sotheby’s auction in New York. Although the auction house did not disclose the name of the buyer, sources have suggested it was Guido Barilla, owner of the Barilla Group. At the time the sale broke the record for the most amount paid for an auctioned painting.
$101.1m Nude, Green Leaves and Bust by Pablo PicassonnPablo Picasso’s 1932 painting, featuring his mistress Marie-Therese Walter, was owned by American art collectors Sidney and Frances Brody for nearly six decades. The painting was sold in a 2010 auction for $106.5m, a world record price at the time, and is currently on show at the Tate Modern in London.
$107m Portrait of Joseph Roulin by Vincent van GoghnnVincent van Gogh’s portrait of his friend, Joseph Roulin, was sold by a private collector in Zurich to the Museum of Modern Art New York City for the asking price of $58m+ plus the exchange of artworks. The adjusted value is set at $107m.
$106.1m Dora Maar au Chat by Pablo PicassonnAn anonymous bidder, thought to be Russian, acquired Pablo Picasso’s portrait of his mistress, Dora Maar, for $95.2m at a 2006 New York auction. The buyer also snapped up an 1883 Monet seascape for $5m and a 1978 Chagall biblical scene, Paradise, for $2.5m, supplying nearly half of the revenue of the entire evening’s sale.
