Most expensive paintings in history
The majority of painters in the world do so as a hobby. A much smaller amount are able to make money by selling their paintings, and an even more privileged group are able to dedicate themselves to painting full-time thanks to these sales. However, it is truly rare for a painting to fetch tens of millions of dollars, since many of the most famous are owned by museums and never sold. Thus, when such a transaction does take place, the world takes note. The following is a list of the most expensive paintings ever sold.
- “No. 5, 1948,” Jackson Pollock, painted 1948, sold for 140 million in 2006 (151.8 million 2010): This painting is a perfect example of Pollock’s abstract expressionism, consisting of large amounts of brown and yellow paint applied over an 8′ x 4′ fiberboard sheet. The painting’s whereabouts are actually something of a mysteryit was originally owned by Samuel Irving Newhouse before being sold to David Geffen (of Geffen Records) and then allegedly sold to David Martinez, although Martinez has denied owning the painting.
- “Woman III,” Willem de Kooning, painted 1953, sold for 137.5 million in 2006 (149.1 million 2010): David Geffen also owned this painting, which he sold around the same time to Steven A. Cohen. The piece is also an abstract expressionist work, and portrays a full-bodied woman with rounded curves set against a jagged background.
- “Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I,” Gustav Klimt, painted 1907, sold for 135 million in 2006 (145.3 million 2010): This painting depicts the wife of Ferdinand Bloch-Bauer, a wealthy sugar industrialist who commissioned two portraits of Adele from Klimt. The piece was confiscated in 1945 during the Nazi takeover of Austria, but in 2006 it was established that Bloch-Bauer’s niece Maria Altmann had the rights to this painting and four others. It was purchased by the New York Neue Galerie in 2006.
- “Portrait of Dr. Gachet,” Vincent van Gogh, painted 1890, sold for 82.5 million in 1990 (139.5 million 2010): There are two original versions of this painting, both showing van Gogh’s personal doctor Paul Gachet. It was purchased by Japanese businessman Ryoei Saito, who famously threatened to have the painting cremated with him when he died. However, its whereabouts today are unknown.
- “Bal du Moulin de la Galette,” Pierre-Auguste Renoir, painted 1876, sold for 78.1 million in 1990 (132 million 2010): Satei purchased this painting at the same time, and made the same threat of cremation. Its ownership is unknown, but it is hung in the Musee d’Orsay in Paris. The painting shows a Sunday afternoon in Paris’s Moulin de la Galettea galette can be either a type of crusty cake or a buckwheat flour pancake.