Most Expensive Paintings: List of Top 10 Most Valuable Works of Art Sold at Auction

The World's Most Expensive Paintings (Part 1)
Top 10 list of the highest priced art sold by the World's Top Artists at auction or by private sale. Among the most valuable oil paintings sold at auction, are works by Pablo Picasso, Gustav Klimt, Vincent Van Gogh and Pierre-Auguste Renoir. Record breaking private sale prices include those for Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning, Klimt and Jasper Johns. Among the top ten most valuable works of art, there are 5 representational-type works, 2 expressionist works, 2 abstract works and 1 Cubist composition. Only two of the record prices were paid for 19th Century paintings: the remainder involve 20th Century works. Please click resources provided, for biographical details of these famous painters and the history of their works.
Encyclopedia of Irish and World Art - HOMEPAGE

World's Most Valuable Art
In general, most of
the world's best art
remains in famous
churches, museums,
or galleries. Examples
include works by the
great Old Masters like
Michelangelo, Raphael,
Leonardo, Rembrandt
and Vermeer, all of
which are priceless.
Estimates of the worth of the Mona Lisa vary from $700 million to $1 billion. The paintings listed here, are solely those sold by auction or privately.

Top 10 Sales Records

See below for a list of the highest priced paintings sold at auction or privately, by some of the world's greatest visual artists, plus details of their record-breaking compositions.

Note also that the value of paintings can fall as well as rise. Renoir's Bal au moulin de la Galette (bought for $78 million) was reputedly resold for $50 million; Cezanne's Rideau, Cruchon et Compotier (bought for $60.5 million) later resold for a lower figure, as did Van Gogh's Irises (bought for $53.9 million) and Monet's famous Water Lilies. The art market tends not to publicize these failures!

1. No. 5, 1948 (1948)
By Jackson Pollock.
$140 million (2006)
Private Sale
Most expensive work of American art.

WORLD'S BEST PAINTING
Greatest Paintings Ever
Oils, watercolours, acrylics,
by the best painters.

1. No 5 (1948)
• Painted by Jackson Pollock (1912-56).
• Sold privately in 2006, for $140 million.
• Seller: David Geffen. Buyer David Martinez.

If unconfirmed reports are correct, Mexican financier David Martinez paid $140 million for this signature work by Jackson Pollock, making it the world's most expensive painting ever. Art critics say this demonstrates the increasing appetite for abstract art, and the eclipse of Impressionism as the most valuable arts movement, but other factors may be involved: notably the relative rarity of Pollock's works, his unique drip/ splash style of 'action painting', and his American nationality. Even so, paying $140 million for a contemporary work of art is a massive vote of confidence in modernism. The 4' x 8' composition, comprising oil, enamel and aluminum paint on fiberboard, is a nest-like tangle of browns, yellows and greys. It exemplifies Pollock's all-over approach to fine art painting, which treats all areas of the canvas equally, rejecting all conventional points of reference or focus. Indeed, Pollock often cropped his finished work to optimize its appearance.

2. Woman III (1953)
By Willem de Kooning.
$137.5 million (2006)
Private Sale

2. Woman III (1953)
• Painted by Willem de Kooning (1904-97).
• Sold privately in 2006, for $137 million.
• Seller: David Geffen. Buyer: Steven A. Cohen

One of the most consistent and longest-lived exponents of the American Abstract Expressionism style, Rotterdam-born Willem de Kooning was noted for his biomorphic synthesis of figurative and abstract styles, often using the female form. In fact Woman III is one of a series of six numbered 'Woman' paintings and the only one still in a private collection. The work's exploration of Freudian themes is visible in its staring eyes, huge breasts and distorted torso, as well as its aggressive brushwork and absence of 'human' colour. Loaded with personal narrative, this work (along with the Jackson Pollock work, above) is 30 percent more expensive than the highest-priced Picasso and almost twice as much as the most valuable Monet. Hmm.

3. Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I (1907)
By Gustav Klimt.
$135 million (2006)
Private Sale

WORLD'S BEST SCULPTURE
Greatest Sculptures Ever
Top 3-D art in marble, stone, bronze,
wood, steel and other media.

3. Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I (1907)
• Painted by Gustav Klimt (1862-1918).
• Sold privately in 2006, for $135 million.
• Seller: Maria Altmann. Buyer: Ronald Lauder.

Arguably yet another example of overpriced art, this iconic image changed hands after a court order by the Austrian government returned it to the Artist's rightful heir after its confiscation by the Nazis during the war. Despite its inflated price-tag however, it remains one of the artist's great masterpieces and exemplifies his fascination with the flat decorative features of Egyptian art, the gold and mosaic elements of Byzantine works, Freudian and other symbolism. Reputedly an oversexed workaholic, Klimt's contribution to the Viennese Jugendstil art movement included numerous portraits of Vienna’s leading ladies, of which this portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer - the wife of Jewish entrepreneur Ferdinand Bloch-Bauer - is considered a leading example. Klimt completed a second portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer in 1912, which ranks Number 6 in the list of all-time most expensive paintings.

4. Garçon à la Pipe (1905)
By Pablo Picasso.
$104.2 million (2004)
Sotheby's, New York

4. Garçon à la Pipe (1905)
• Painted by Pablo Picasso (1881-1973).
• Sold at auction in 2004, for $104.2 million.
• Seller: Greentree foundation (Whitney family). Buyer: unknown.

The most expensive example of representational art, this Picasso masterpiece holds the record for the highest price ever achieved by a work of modern art at auction. It took a mere 7 minutes of bidding to reach the hammered price, which far exceeded the previous record of $82.5 million set by Van Gogh's Portrait of Dr Gachet in 1990, breaking the $100 million barrier in the process.

Painted by the 24-year old Pablo Picasso during his more cheerful Rose Period, (following his mournful Blue Period), it is one of the most iconic works of the era and the finest still in private hands.

4a. Eight Elvises (1963)
• Screenprint by Andy Warhol (1928-87).
• Sold by private sale 2009, for $100 million.
• Seller: unknown. Buyer: unknown.

December 1st, 2009 - According to a report in the London Economist, the unique screenprint Eight Elvises by Andy Warhol has been sold by private treaty to an anonymous buyer for $100 million. The 12-ft high picture has not been seen in public since it was shown in Los Angeles in 1963. We await confirmation.

5. Dora Maar with Cat (1941) Detail
By Pablo Picasso.
$95.2 million (2006)
Sotheby's, New York

GREATEST ARTISTS
For a list of the Top 10 and Top 20
of the finest painters & sculptors:
Best Artists of All Time: Top 10.

5. Dora Maar au Chat (1941)
• Painted by Pablo Picasso (1881-1973).
• Sold at auction in 2006, for $95.2 million.
• Seller: Gidwitz family. Buyer: unknown.

Dora Maar with Cat is a large, luminous, Cubist-style portrait of Picasso's mistress, seated on a chair with a small cat perched on her shoulders. Its sale in 2006 far exceeded its $50 million estimate, and made it the second most expensive painting sold by an auctioneer in the history of art. An inspiration as well as a mistress, Dora Maar (1907-1997) was one of Picasso's favourite models and the subject of countless interpretations (eg. Weeping Woman) during the course of their dynamic relationship which endured for 11 years from 1935 to 1946. In this portrait of Maar, Picasso has added numerous deliberate narrative or symbolic elements, including: a hat, symbolizing a crown; a cat, alluding to feminine guile and sensual activity; long sharp fingernails (not visible in the picture) to reinforce the idea of feline aggression; a vibrant colour scheme picking out various details of Maar's dress (not visible). Whether these elements were intended to compliment or demonize Maar remains unclear.

6. Adele Bloch-bauer II (1912)
By Gustav Klimt. $87.9 million
(Christie's New York, November 2006)

6. Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer II (1912)
• Painted by Gustav Klimt (1862-1918).
• Sold at auction in 2006, for $87.9 million.
• Seller: Maria Altmann. Buyer: unknown.

In this second portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer, which was painted five years after his first version, the earlier gold backdrop has been replaced by a quieter, more detached background. Even so, the halo-like hat and the focus on Adele's face points to his continuing regard for her. The painting also demonstrates Kilimt's new attitude to colour (shorn of its use of gold), as well as his technique of combining elements of reality and unreality. Art critics typically swoon over this latter attribute. One has stated that in this composition: Klimt "demonstrated the liberation of visualization by effortlessly assimilating a whole series of influences and reworking them into a peculiarly inspired personal vision." Quite so. Personally, I think Klimt does beautifully decorative work, with a few echoes of German Expressionist groups like Der Blaue Reiter and Die Brucke, without ever revealing the artistic genius suggested by the world record auction price of this canvas.

7. Triptych (1976) Detail
By Francis Bacon.
$86.3 million (2008)
Sotheby's New York

See also: Irish Art Market

7. Triptych (1976)
• Painted by Francis Bacon (1909-92).
• Sold at auction in 2008, for $86.3 million.
• Seller: European art collection. Buyer: Roman Abramovich.
See also: Most Expensive Irish Paintings.

A masterpiece of post-war contemporary art by one of the most famous artists of the modern era, Francis Bacon’s Triptych, is regarded as the most important painting by the artist in private hands. It was the focal work of the artist’s most important show of new work of the 1970s - one of the most sustained and productive periods in his career - which was staged at the Galerie Claude Bernard in Paris in 1977. In this work, Bacon utilizes Greek Mythology to depict his personal fate, disclosing in a single work his full range of imagery and iconography. It is one of his most complex and imaginative works and bristles with classical narrative, much too complex to explain in a couple of sentences. Not surprisingly, given the quality of the work and the fact that Sotheby's had previously achieved five world record prices for works by Francis Bacon, Triptych smashed its pre-sale estimate of $70 million. See also, the list of Top-20 Contemporary Artists.

8. Portrait of Dr. Gachet (1890)
By Vincent Van Gogh.
$82.5 million (1990)
Christie's, New York

8. Portrait of Dr Gachet (1890)
• Painted by Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890).
• Sold at auction in 1990, for $82.5 million.
• Seller: Siegfried Kramarsky family: Buyer: Ryoei Saito.

The Dutch Post-Impressionist Van Gogh painted two portraits of Dr Gachet - the last-ditch psychiatrist with whom he stayed immediately prior to his suicide - each with a differing colour scheme. The other portrait hangs in the Musée d'Orsay in Paris. Sold in 1990 at Christie's for a world record price to the Japanese industrialist Ryoei Saito, it was reportedly resold to a European buyer in 1997 or 1998 for $70-$90 million. Interestingly, Van Gogh felt a strong sense of empathy with the 62-year old widower Gachet, due to the latter's eccentricities and melancholic unease, and his attempt to seek solace in hard work. The painting deliberately conveys the doctor's "heartbroken expression", reinforced by the addition of a glass with sprigs of foxglove - a homeopathic plant used to treat depression, as well as two French novels about the mental stresses of Parisian life.

9. False Start (1959)
By Jasper Johns.
$80 million (2006)
Private Sale

9. False Start (1959)
• Painted by Jasper Johns (b.1930).
• Sold privately in 2006, for $80 million.
• Seller: David Geffen: Buyer: Kenneth C. Griffin.

A founding father of Pop-Art, Johns is noted for his innovative use of mixed-media such as oils, waxed-based paint, plaster and collage (including flags, maps, stenciled words, numbers, newspapers and other 'found materials' or objets trouvés).

In this work, the most expensive painting by a living artist, Johns uses stenciled words on a brightly colored background which provide a literal allusion to the title False Start. This is because the words - which express colours, red, white and so on - are painted in (and are positioned on) contradictory colours to those described. The use of words exemplifies Johns' utilization of everyday images to stimulate the spectator.

10. Bal Au Moulin de la Galette (1876)
By Pierre-Auguste Renoir.
$78.1 million (1990)
Sotheby's, New York

WORLDS TOP ARTISTS
For the greatest view painters, see:
Best Landcape Artists.
For the greatest still life art, see:
Best Still Life Painters.
For the greatest portraitists
see: Best Portrait Artists.
For the greatest genre-painting, see:
Best Genre Painters.
For the top allegorical painting,
see: Best History Painters.

10. Bal au Moulin de la Galette (1876)
• Painted by Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919).
• Sold at auction in 1990, for $78.1 million.
• Seller: Betsey Whitney. Buyer: Ryoei Saito.

This Renoir masterpiece, the most expensive example of Impressionism ever sold, portrays a Sunday afternoon dance in a Monmartre dance garden. It is one of the most famous works of French Impressionism, and highlights the artist's unique skill in reproducing dappled light, which infuses the whole work with a soft-focus quality.

Also visible in this plein-air painting are several of Renoir's artist friends.

Curiously, the painting has two things in common with Van Gogh's Portrait of Dr Gachet. First, it too was purchased by Ryoei Saito and subsequently resold at a loss to a European art collector. Second, it too has a 'sister' version. In this case, a larger canvas which (again like the other Gachet) hangs in the Musée d’Orsay.

For Part 2, see: Top 20 Most Expensive Paintings.

• For more details of visual culture in Ireland, see: Irish Art Encyclopedia.
• For a personal view of the top contemporary painters in Ireland, see: Best Irish Artists.