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.
**Prices adjusted for inflation (value in $ millions)
| Author | Work | Year | Price | Adjusted Price** | Description | Image | Date of Sale |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Qi Baishi | Twelve landscapes screens | 1925 | $140.8 million | $158.8 million | Poly 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 |  | 2017 |
| Francis Bacon | Three Studies of Lucian Freud | 1969 | $142.4 million | $169.8 million | Christie'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". |  | 2013 |
| Gustav Klimt | Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer II | 1912 | $150 million | $172.9 million | Private 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. |  | 2016 |
| Amedeo Modigliani | Nu couché (sur le côté gauche) | 1917 | $157.2 million | $173.7 million | Sotheby'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). |  | 2018 |
| Roy Lichtenstein | Masterpiece | 1962 | $165 million | $174.2 million | Private 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 |  | 2017 |
| Jackson Pollock | Number 5, 1948 | 1948 | $140 million | $192.8 million | Private 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. |  | 2006 |
| Pablo Picasso | Le Rêve | 1932 | $155 million | $184.4 million | Private 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 |  | 2013 |
| Willem de Kooning | Woman III | 1952 - 1953 | $137.5 million | $189.3 million | Private 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 |  | 2006 |
| Gustav Klimt | Adele Bloch-Bauer I | 1907 | $135 million | $185.3 million | Private 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. |  | 2006 |
| Vincent Van Gogh | Portrait of Dr. Gachet | 1890 | $82.5 million | $177.5 million | Christie'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 |  | 1990 |
| Pierre-Auguste Renoir | Bal du moulin de la Galette | 1876 | $78.1 million | $168 million | Sotheby'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. |  | 1990 |
| Leonardo da Vinci | Salvator Mundi | 1490 - 1519 | $450.3 million | $507.4 million | Christie’s New York, 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. |  | 2017 |
| Willem de Kooning | Interchange | 1955 | $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). |  | 2015 |
| Paul Cézanne | The Card Players | 1892 - 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. |  | 2011 |
| Paul Gauguin | Nafea 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. |  | 2015 |
| Jackson Pollock | Number 17A | 1948 | $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). |  | 2015 |
| Gustav Klimt | Wasserschlangen II | 1907 | $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. |  | 2013 |
| Mark Rothko | No. 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. |  | 2014 |
| Pablo Picasso | Les Femmes d'Alger | 1955 | $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. |  | 2015 |
| Rembrandt | The Standard Bearer | 1636 | $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". |  | 2021 |
| Amedeo Modigliani | Nu couché | 1917 - 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. |  | 2015 |
| Andy Warhol | Sage Blue Marilyn | 1964 | $195 million | $195 million | Christie's New York, May 2022. Seller: Thomas and Doris Ammann. Buyer: Larry Gagosian |  | 2022 |
| Andy Warhol | Orange Marilyn | 1964 | $225 million | $248 million | Price paid said to be "over $200 million" ($200-250 million) 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. |  | 2018 |
| Mark Rothko | No. 20 (Yellow Expanse) | 1953 | $200 million | $233.2 million | Price 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 |  | 2014 |
True or Hype? Not confirmed Sums
**inflation-adjusted price value in millions of USD
| Autor | Masterpiece | Year | Price | Price** | Description | Image | Date of Sale |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leonardo da Vinci | Madonna dei fusi | 1501 | $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 |  | 1999 |
| Vincent Van Gogh | The 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. |  | 2019 |
| Vincent Van Gogh | Self-portrait with bandaged ear | 1889 | $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. |  | 1996 |
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