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The Most Expensive Paintings Ever sold

A detailed and and frequently updated list of the most expensive paintings in the world.

This list showcases paintings sold at either public auctions or private sales, and it is frequently updated. In addition to ‘confirmed’ sales, at the end of the list you can find a few works whose price has not being confirmed despite the rumours about exorbitant sums. For the sake of brevity, only works with an inflation-adjusted price of more than $150 million are listed.

AuthorWorkYearPriceAdjusted Price**DescriptionImageDate of Sale
Qi BaishiTwelve landscapes screens 1925$140.8 million$158.8 millionPoly Beijing, December 2017. Seller: Unknown. Buyer: Unknown
The largest of the "twelve landscape screens" series by Qi Baishi, often regarded as the most important 20th century Chinese painter.
Image © Heirs of Qi Baishi
Qi Baishi - Twelve Landscape Screens - zoom2017
Francis BaconThree Studies of Lucian Freud1969$142.4 million$169.8 millionChristie's New York, 2013. Seller: Francesco De Simone Niquesa(?). Buyer: Unknown
Until the sale of Picasso's "Femmes" (see above), this Bacon was not only the most expensive painting ever auctioned, but also a record for a contemporary work of art. Christie's explained that when this work was painted, "the relationship between Freud and Bacon was at its apex".
Francis Bacon - Three Studies of Lucian Freud - 1969 - Oil on canvas - 198 x 147.5 cm2013
Gustav KlimtPortrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer II1912$150 million$172.9 millionPrivate sale: 2016. Seller: Oprah Winfrey. Buyer: private collector.
The second version of the "Adele Bloch-Bauer" portrait (the first version was sold for a then-record $135 million in 2006). It had been auctioned in 2006 for around $88 million.
Gustav Klimt - Adele Bloch Bauer II - 19122016
Amedeo ModiglianiNu couché (sur le côté gauche)1917$157.2 million$173.7 millionSotheby's New York, May 2018. Seller: David Nahmad. Buyer: private collector.
By far the most expensive painting auctioned in 2018, its sale was, paradoxically, a bit of a disappointment, as many expected the work to surpass the previous record for Modigliani ($170 million).
Amedeo Modigliani - Nu couche - 19172018
Roy LichtensteinMasterpiece1962$165 million$174.2 millionPrivate sale, 2017. Seller: Agnes Gund. Buyer: Steven A. Cohen
"Masterpiece" is one of Roy Lichtenstein's most recognizable paintings, painted one year after his "Look Mickey" and one year before "Whaam!", often considered his most famous works.
Image © Artists Rights Society, New York
Roy Lichtenstein - Masteripiece - 1962 - 137 x 137 cm2017
Jackson PollockNumber 5, 19481948$140 million$192.8 millionPrivate sale, 2006. Seller: David Geffen. Buyer: Unknown (rumoured to be Mexican businessman David Martinez)
This stunning "drip" by Jackson Pollock was at the time the most expensive contemporary painting ever sold, though the exact price was never confirmed (but the price displayed here is generally accepted to be true). The exorbitant sum demonstrated not only the strenght of the Art market at the time, but also an increasing interest for the contemporary works of Art.
Jackson Pollock - No. 5 1948 - 1948 - Oil on fireboard - 240 x 120 cm - Private collection2006
Pablo PicassoLe Rêve1932$155 million$184.4 millionPrivate sale, 2013. Seller: Steve Wynn. Buyer: Steven A. Cohen
"La Rêve (The Dream)" is one of Picasso's most sensual and famous paintings, depicting her lover Marie-Therese Walter sitting on a red armchair with her eyes closed. In 2006, Steve Wynn agreed to sell the painting to Steven Cohen for $139 million, but the sale was cancelled when Mr. Wynn accidentally damaged the work.
Image © Succession Pablo Picasso / Artists Rights Society, New York
Pablo Picasso - Le-reve - 1932 - Oil on canvas - 130 x 97 cm - Cubism - Private collection of Steven A Cohen2013
Willem de KooningWoman III1952 - 1953$137.5 million$189.3 millionPrivate sale, 2006. Seller: David Geffen. Buyer: Steven Cohen
This painting is the only "Woman" by Willem de Kooning still in private hands. One of this women -described by T. Hess as "black goddesses"- has been chosen by theartwolf.com as one of the 50 masterworks of the history of painting.
Image © Artists Rights Society, New York
Willem de Kooning - Woman III - 1953 - Oil on canvas - 172.7 x 123.2 cm Private collection of Steven A Cohen2006
Gustav KlimtAdele Bloch-Bauer I1907$135 million$185.3 millionPrivate sale, 2006. Seller: Maria Altmann. Buyer: Ronald Lauder.
The acquisition of this iconic work by cosmetic magnate Ronald Lauder caused a shock in the Art world, not only for the spectacular sum paid for it, but also for the way it was sold, far away from the noisy auction houses. The painting was part of a group of five canvases which had been recently returned to the heirs of Ferdinand Bloch-Bauer. The Nazis confiscated his paintings during the World War II, and after the war, the canvases were placed at the National Gallery of Austria in 1948.
Gustav Klimt - Adele Bloch Bauer I - 1907 - Oil silver and gold on canvbas - 140 x 140 cm2006
Vincent Van GoghPortrait of Dr. Gachet1890$82.5 million$177.5 millionChristie's New York, 1990. Seller: Heirs of Siegfried Kramarsky. Buyer: Ryoei Saito.
The story about this famous and brilliant work resumes by itself the "Japanese buyer boom" of the late 80s and early 90s: great painting, sold for an astronomic amount of money to a Japanese buyer (Ryoei Saito), who was later ruined, and the whereabouts of the painting are now unknown. Some sources places it in Europe, waiting for its return to the Art market
Vincent Van Gogh - Portrait of Dr. Gachet - 1890 - 68 x 57 cm1990
Pierre-Auguste RenoirBal du moulin de la Galette1876$78.1 million$168 millionSotheby's New York, 1990. Seller: Betsey Whitney. Buyer: Ryoei Saito
Another victim of the Japanese "buy it and forget it" boom was this masterpiece by Renoir, the little sister of the version currently exhibited at the Orsay. The painting was bought by Ryoei Saito (see Van Gogh's 'Portrait of Dr. Gachet) for $78.1 million at Sotheby's, 1990, and sold in 1997 to a "European private collector" for $50 million.
Pierre-Auguste Renoir - Le Moulin de la Galette - 1876 - 131 x 175 cm1990
Leonardo da VinciSalvator Mundi1490 - 1519$450.3 million$507.4 million

Christie’s New York,
Date of sell: November, 2017
Seller: Dmitry Rybolovlev. Buyer: Unknown.

Leonardo’s painting of Salvator Mundi was long believed to have existed but was generally presumed to have been destroyed until it was rediscovered in 2005. Its attribution, however, is still subject of debate among scholars.

Leonardo da Vinci - Salvator Mundi - 1500 - Oil on walnut - 45.4 × 65.6 cm - with frame2017
Willem de KooningInterchange1955$300 million$350.4 million

Private sale, September 2015. Seller: David Geffen. Buyer: Kenneth C. Griffin.

The most expensive contemporary painting ever. Bought by Griffin along with Pollock’s “Number 17A” for a total of $500 million ($300 for the de Kooning, $200 for the Pollock).
Image © Artists Rights Society, New York

Willem de Kooning - Interchange - 1955 - Oil on canvas - 200.7 x 175.3 cm2015
Paul CézanneThe Card Players1892 - 1893$250 million$307.8 million

Private sale, 2011. Seller: George Embiricos. Buyer: Royal Family of Qatar.

This is the last version of this famous composition by Paul Cézanne still in private hands. The fabulous psychological intensity in the faces of the players make this painting a masterpiece of post-impressionist art.

Paul Cezanne - Les Joueurs de cartes - 3 version - 1892-1893 - Oil on canvas - 97 x 130 cm - Collection Al-Thani Yorck2011
Paul GauguinNafea faa Ipoipo?1892$210 million$247.2 million

Private sale, early 2015. Seller: Rudolf Staechelin Family Trust. Buyer: Qatar Museums?.

The painting -one of Gauguin’s most famous and reproduced images- depicts a couple of Tahitian native women, one of them dressed in a traditional Tahitian dress, while the other one, showing a serious expression on her face, is wearing a mission dress.

Paul Gauguin - Nafea Faa Ipoipo - 1892 - Oil on canvas - 101 x 77 cm - Private collection2015
Jackson PollockNumber 17A1948$200 million$233.3 million

Private sale, September 2015. Seller: David Geffen. Buyer: Kenneth C. Griffin.

Bought by Griffin along with de Kooning’s “Interchange” for a total of $500 million ($300 for the de Kooning, $200 for the Pollock).
Image © Artists Rights Society, New York

Jackson Pollock - Number 17A - 1948 - Oil on fireboard - 112 x 86.5 cm - Private collection2015
Gustav KlimtWasserschlangen II1907$187 million$222.6 million

Private sale, 2013. Seller: Yves Bouvier. Buyer: Dmitri Rybolovlev.

This classical work by Klimt was seized by the Nazis during World War II. It was one of Rybolovlev’s spectacular acquisitions that culminated in a lawsuit against the dealer.

Gustav Klimt - Wasserschlangen II Freundinnen - 1907 - Oil on canvas - 80 x 145 cm - Private collection2013
Mark RothkoNo. 6 (Violet, Green and Red)1951$186 million$217 million

Private sale, 2014. Seller: Yves Bouvier. Buyer: Dmitri Rybolovlev.

Evidently overpaid, it was one of Rybolovlev’s acquisitions via Yves Bouvier.
Image © Artists Rights Society, New York

Mark Rothko - No. 6 Violet Green and Red - 1951 - Oil on canvas2014
Pablo PicassoLes Femmes d'Alger1955$179.4 million$209.7 million

Christie’s New York, May 2015. Seller: Private collection, Saudi Arabia. Buyer: Anonymous

“Les Femmes d’Alger (Version “O”)” is one of Picasso’s most famous late works, but not one of his most important works. The absurd sum of $179,4 million paid for the work represented the highest price ever paid for a painting at auction at the time. The painting had been sold for $31.9 million in 1997, in an auction where Picasso’s “La Rêve (The Dream)” achieved $48 million.
Image © Succession Pablo Picasso / Artists Rights Society, New York

Pablo Picasso - Les femmes dAlger - version O - 1955 - 114 x 146.4 cm2015
Rembrandt The Standard Bearer1636$197.9 million$197.9 million

Private sale, December 2021 (confirmed January 2022). Seller: Rothschild Family. Buyer: Dutch State

One of the most daring portraits of the great master of Dutch Baroque painting, related both in subject matter and style to his great masterpiece, "The Night Watch".

Rembrandt - The Standard Bearer2021
Amedeo Modigliani Nu couché1917 - 1918$170.4 million$199.5 million

Christie’s New York, November 2015. Seller: Private collection. Buyer: Liu Yiqian

The painting is one of a series of great female nudes made for Léopold Zborowski that famously caused a scandal nearly a century ago when they were exhibited at Modigliani’s first and only one-man show at the Galerie Berthe Weill in Paris.

Amedeo Modigliani - Reclining Nude Nu couche - 1917-1918 - Oil on canvas - 59.9 x 92 cm - Private collection2015
Andy WarholSage Blue Marilyn1964$195 million$195 million

Christie's New York, May 2022. Seller: Thomas and Doris Ammann. Buyer: Larry Gagosian

The second "Shot Marilyn" on this list. Its sale set a new auction record for a 20th century work of art, although its price was lower than that achieved four years earlier by the aforementioned orange version.
Image © Artists Rights Society, New York

Andy Warhol - Shot Sage Blue Marilyn - 19642022
Andy WarholOrange Marilyn1964$225 million$248 million

Price paid said to be "over $200 million" ($200-250 million)
Private sale, 2018. Seller: Samuel “Si” Newhouse. Buyer: Kenneth C. Griffin.

Warhol's portraits of Marilyn Monroe rank among the most iconic artworks ever created. The "Orange" version is arguably the most striking and desirable of all of them.
Image © Artists Rights Society, New York

Andy Warhol - Orange Marilyn - 19642018
Mark RothkoNo. 20 (Yellow Expanse)1953$200 million$233.2 millionPrice estimated, sold for $300m along with a smaller Rothko and a Diebenkorn
Private sale, 2014. Seller: Bunny Mellon. Buyer: private collection.
A monumental work by Rothko, with an excellent provenance.
Image © Artists Rights Society, New York
Mark Rothko - No. 20 Yellow Expanse2014

True or Hype? Not confirmed Sums

**inflation-adjusted price value in millions of USD

AutorMasterpieceYearPricePrice**DescriptionImageDate of Sale
Leonardo da VinciMadonna dei fusi1501$150M$242M"Madonna dei fusi", 1501
$150 million
Private sale, late 90s (1999?). Buyer: private collector, New Work
Let's put a lot of question marks on this sum. In fact, it is almost sure that this almost offensive number is an exaggerated hype. Nevertheless, the spectacular price suggested -it would be one of the most expensive old master paintings ever sold- deserves to be commented here. You can read more about this painting in this article
Leonardo da Vinci - Madonna dei fusi - 1501 - Private collection - New York1999
Vincent Van GoghThe Zouave (The Seated Zouave)1888$300M$325.5M"The Zouave" ("The Seated Zouave"), 1889
$300 million
Private sale, 2019. Buyer: Unknown. Seller: Nelly Arrieta de Blaquier 
In 2020, some sources suggested that this painting had been sold by Nelly Arrieta de Blaquier (deceased that same year) for $300 million, something that is hard to believe in the absence of confirmation by any of the parties involved.
Vincent van Gogh - Le Zouave - 18882019
Vincent Van GoghSelf-portrait with bandaged ear1889$90M$178.2M"Self-portrait with bandaged ear", 1889
$90 million
Private sale, late 90s. Buyer: Niarchos family
This highly important work was previously in the collection of Leigh B. Block in Chicago , and then it was quietly purchased by the Niarchos family. The sum -never confirmed- is not absurd given the high quality of the painting.
Vincent Van Gogh - Selbstbildnis mit verbundenem Ohr und Pfeife - 18891996

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Most Expensive Paintings