Top 10 most expensive paintings in the world
That you're interested in the finer things in the life we are only interested in giving our readers facts and insights into the biggest and best things in life and something that's always fascinated society's elite has definitely been a fine art and its possessions the greatness of art, in general, is that there's such a the diverse and varied spectrum of works with everyone having their own favorite artist or artistic period that they think rules supreme over the rest people are so passionate about collecting art that it's no surprise original pieces by some of the world's most iconic masters have been sold at auctions for astronomical prices though there are paintings like da Vinci's Mona Lisa a near priceless piece that will likely never be put on sale through the years many high-profile works of art have exchanged hands in the auction room for more money than you could ever imagine without further ado here is our list of the 10 most expensive paintings ever to be sold at auction and just so you know we are marking our figures to adjusted prices to make this list as accurate as possible.
A masterpiece by Roy Lichtenstein one hundred and sixty-five million dollars kicking off our list of insanely expensive paintings are Roy Lichtenstein's masterpiece created in 1962 the piece is an iconic work of pop art featuring Lichtenstein's signature blend dots and a speech balloon and is celebrated for its quirky narrative content that accurately predicted the artists rise to fame for years masterpiece hung over the mantle of American philanthropist Agnes Gunn's New York City apartment but in January she made the incredibly selfless decision to sell the painting and donate the proceeds to starting a criminal justice reform fund called art for justice the sale was completed privately and a masterpiece was bought by American hedge fund manager Steven a Cohen for 165 million dollars.
9-Number five 1948
Number five 1948 by Jackson Pollock 166 point three million dollars making his first appearance on this list at number two is Jackson Pollock with the 1948 work number five 1948 a true work of abstract expressionist genius from the master of the form Pollux number five oil painting was under the ownership of American business magnate David Geffen for many years until 2006 when it was sold in a private sale that evoked much speculation among art lovers through the identity of the paintings new owner is not a matter of public record, many people believe it to be Mexican investor David Martinez who seemingly paid one hundred and sixty-six point three million dollars for the privilege Geffen's motive for selling the masterpiece was to raise funds for his bid to buy the Los Angeles Times.
8-New cachet
New cachet by Amedeo Modigliani one hundred and seventy-two point two million dollars taking the eighth flawed on this list is new cachet by Italian painter Amedeo Modigliani an oil canvas created in 1917 that is one of the artists most widely exhibited and reproduced works now a part of a private collection the painting was brought to auction at Christie's New York in November 2015 where it was purchased by Chinese businessman Lew Lucan for a staggering 172 point two million dollars the prominence and importance of this painting can be seen in the lot notes for Christie's auction which state that Modigliani group of nudes resulted in a reaffirming and reinvigorating of the nude model as a presence in Modern Art high praise indeed.
7-Les femmes dal Jai (version o)
Les femmes dal Jai (version o) by Pablo Picasso one hundred and eighty-one point two million dollars up next is a painting by a man known the world over the one and only Pablo Picasso painted in 1955 Picasso's version o of less femmes dal, Jai is without a doubt the most famous of this particular series in 1997 it was purchased for an undisclosed fee by British art dealer Libby Howie on behalf of an anonymous Saudi Arabian London-based collector verse Oh arrived at auction for a second time in May 2015 at Christie's New York where it was expected to set a new world record and that the expectation was met when the Qatari Prime Minister Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani paid one hundred and eighty 1.2 million dollars for ownership the the highest price ever paid at auction for an artwork at that time.
6-Pendant portraits of Martin Suleiman'sand huapi and carpet
182 million dollars in the case of bang for your buck number 6 on our list is actually for a pair of artworks by Dutch master Rembrandt actually his 1634 pendant portraits of Martin Suleiman's and Huapi and carpet this pair of full-length wedding portraits were painted separately but have been kept together ever since their completion and were sold in a private sale by Eric de Rothschild in September 2015 in an unusual turn of events the paintings were bought for 182 million dollars in a joint venture by the Louvre in Paris and the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam the two institutions are experimenting with a shared ownership system in which the paintings will be shown in both regularly and also sent out on art tours.
5-Number 6 violent green and red
Number 6 violent green and red by Mark Rothko 188 million dollars just squeaking into our top 5 is number 6 violent green and red a 1951 oil painting by Russian American abstract expressionist Mark Rothko the painting is seen as a quintessential example of that particular the period in Rothko's career with large expanses of color hazy shades and faded separated lines yet in another private sale in August of 2014 the painting was bought by Russian businessman Dmitry rebel alive for 140 million euros the the equivalent of a staggering 188 million dollars.
4 -Number 17
Number 17 a by Jackson Pollock 202 million dollars it's time to say hello again to our friend Jackson Pollock with this 1948 masterpiece number 17 a Pollak has the distinction among his peers of being the only artist to have two artworks in the most expensive auction top 10 a truly amazing feat if you've never even heard of Jackson Pollock we can guarantee that you will have at least seen images of this iconic painting before and you might have heard of him referred to as Jack the dripper for his the distinctive style for years this painting was in the possession of David Geffen the man who you remembered also owned Pollock's number five 1948 in 2015 however number 17 a was sold privately by the David Geffen foundation to the American hedge fund manager Kenneth C Griffin for an eye-watering 202 million dollars take note of me. Griffin's name he might be making an appearance later on in this list.
3-Nephi Filippo
When will you marry number 3 Nephi Filippo when will you marry by Paul Gauguin two hundred and twelve million dollars number three on this increasingly expensive list goes to Paul Gauguin's 1892 painting Neff Atha hypo when will you marry Goggans mastery of the French post-impressionist movement made his very best works infinitely valuable and this came to fruition when in February Neff Atha Apoyo was sold privately on behalf of the family of Swiss businessman Rudolph's Aisling the lucky owner of this masterpiece was chica Alma ASSA bint Hamad al-than a member of Qatari royalty and a known art lover who paid two hundred and twelve million dollars to be able to call the painting her.
2-the card players
own number two the card players by Paul Cezanne 266 million dollars just missing out of the top spot is Paul cézanne's 1893 masterpiece the card players painted in the latter years of seasons career the card players is actually a series of similar oil paintings that vary in size setting and number of visible players the most prolific of which was bought by the Qatari royal family anyone starting to sense a theme here in 2011 for the extraordinary sum of two hundred and sixty-six million dollars this sale was arranged by Greek shipping magnate George MB Rico's who had been the paintings previous owner the card players series featuring many of the original pieces have repeatedly been featured in museum tours around the world but this particular privately owned piece is always represented by a replacement print.
1- interchange
Interchange by Willem de Kooning 303 million dollars here it is the moment you've been waiting for the most expensive painting ever sold at auction by far is interchanged by Willem de Kooning the dutch American masters 1955 oil painting is a defining work in Abstract Expressionism and in a transaction that feels very similar to anyone who has watched the entirety of this video the painting was sold in September 2015 by the David Geffen foundation for a phenomenal 303 million dollars - yep you guessed it me. Kenneth C Griffin this astronomical purchase means that Griffin is the proud owner of not one but two of the most expensive paintings in the world what an unbelievable claim to fame happy to share his love of art with the world Griffin has arranged for the paintings to be on loan at the Art Institute of Chicago since the record-breaking sale so there you have a detailed rundown of the 10 most expensive paintings that have ever been sold at auction are you an art lover yourself which of the paintings would you most like to have hanging on your wall let us know down in the comments. and now how about one final art fact as a thank you for sticking with us right to the end of the list did you know that out of the 70 biggest selling pieces of artwork ever Pablo Picasso is the most frequent contributor Picasso makes no less than 13 appearances on the list with his sold pieces adding up to a sensational value of 1.3 billion dollars.
