Most expensive sculptures ever sold
by theartwolf.com
While working on the most expensive paintings ever sold list, we noticed that a lot of lists about that subject were displayed in many websites -though many of them were incorrect- but, surprisingly, no complete list of the most expensive sculptures ever sold could be found. So here is the result of our research.
For the sake of brevity, only works with an inflation-adjusted price of more than $50 million are listed.
** Prices adjusted for inflation
| Author | Work | Date | Original Price | Adjusted Price** | Description | Image | Date of sale |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Henri Matisse | Nu de dos, 4 état (Back IV) | 1958 | $48.8 million | $62 million | Christie’s New York, November 2010 The auction was the first time in history that a work from the artist’s celebrated ‘Back’ series has ever come to auction | 2010 | |
| Alberto Giacometti | Grande tête mince | 1955 | $53.3 million | $67.9 million | Christie’s New York, May 2010 Giacometti is the king of this list. But, paradoxically, this great bust was sold in the same auction in which a painting by Picasso sold for $106.5 million, dethroning Giacometti as the most expensive artist ever |  | 2010 |
| Unknown artist, Mesopotamia | The Guennol Lioness | c.3000 b.C. | $57.2 million | $75.7 million | Sotheby’s NY, December 5th 2007 The Guennol Lioness, a true masterpiece of Ancient Art, was created approximately 5,000 years ago in the region of ancient Mesopotamia. This work also broke the record for the most expensive antiquity ever sold |  | 2007 |
| Jeff Koons | Balloon Dog (Orange) | 1994-2000 | $58.4 million | $69.7 million | Christie’s New York, November 2013 “Balloon Dog” es posiblemente la escultura más famosa de Jeff Koon. Existe en cinco versiones: azul, magenta, naranja, rojo y amarillo. | 2013 | |
| Constantin Brancusi | La muse endormie | 1913 | $57.4 million | $65.2 million | Christie’s New York, May 2017 This small (26.7 cm long) work is the first in Brancusi’s series of egg-shaped sculptures. |  | 2017 |
| Amedeo Modigliani | Tête | 1911-12 | $59.5 million | $75.9 million | Christie’s Paris, June 2010 Another version of this important sculpture, this work was at the time the most expensive work of art ever auctioned in France. | 2010 | |
| Alberto Giacometti | Le Nez | 1947 | $78.4 million | $78.4 million | Sotheby’s New York, November 2021 "Le Nez" is one of the artist's most important sculptures, selected as the cover for the catalogue of the Giacometti retrospective at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York in 2018 |  | 2021 |
| Amedeo Modigliani | Tête | 1911-12 | $70.7 million | $83.2 million | Sotheby’s New York, November 2014 Modigliani’s sculptures are very rare: this stone bust is actually one of the 27 sculptures Modigliani ever created (and one of the only ten remaining in private hands). | 2014 | |
| Constantin Brancusi | La jeune fille sophistiquée (Portrait de Nancy Cunard) | 1914-17 | $71.2 million | $78.7 million | Christie’s New York, May 2018 A masterpiece of Brancusi’s mature style, “La jeune fille sophistiquée” is inspired in Nancy Cunard, a muse of some of the most famous artists of her era. |  | 2018 |
| Jeff Koons | Rabbit | 1986 | $91.1 million | $98.9 million | Christie’s New York, May 2019 Not only a record for the artist, but also a world auction record for a work by a living artist. Image by Fred Romero, license Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic |  | 2019 |
| Alberto Giacometti | Chariot | 1950 | $101 million | $118.9 million | Sotheby’s New York, November 2014 Conceived in 1950 and cast in 1951-52, this example of Giacomett’s famous “Chariot” is set apart by its gold patina and exquisitely-painted surface. It is one of only two casts remaining in private hands | 2014 | |
| Pablo Picasso | Bust of a Woman (Marie-Thérèse) | 1931 | $106 million | $123.4 million | Private sale, 2015. This work -which surely will not help to diminish Pablo Picasso's reputation as a misogynist- was acquired by Leon Black, who three years earlier had paid a record price for Munch's "The Scream". |  | 2015 |
| Alberto Giacometti | L’Homme qui marche I (Walking Man I) | 1961 | $104.3 million | $133.8 million | Sotheby’s London, February 2010 This life-size work ranks among the most arresting and iconic of the artist’s bronzes, and became the most expensive work of Art ever auctioned at that time. | 2010 | |
| Alberto Giacometti | L’homme au doigt (Pointing Man) | 1947 | $141.3 million | $165.2 million | Christie’s New York, May 2015 This spectacular bronze broke the record for the most expensive sculpture ever auctioned. At the same sale, Picasso’s “Les Femmes d’Alger (Version “O”)” sold for $179.4 million, becoming the most expensive painting ever sold at auction. |  | 2015 |
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