30 Most Expensive Paintings of All Time

 

This is the collection of the highest known prices ever paid for painting. The earliest sale on the list (Vase with Fifteen Sunflowers by Vincent van Gogh) is from 1987, and more than trebled the previous record price, set only two years before, introducing a new era in top picture prices. The sale was also significant in that for the first time a “modern” painting (in this case from 1888) became the record holder, as opposed to the old master painting which had always previously held it.

Since at that time sales of the most valuable painting have usually been made at the auctions, though that had by no means been the case before, and the list below still shows some “private sales”, including the three most expensive. The current record price was paid for a work from 1948 by Jackson Pollock, and there are only three old master painting in the collection below.

The world’s most famous painting, especially old master works done before 1800, are generally owned by museums, which very rarely sell them, and as such, they are quite literally priceless. Guinness World Records lists the Mona Lisa as having the highest insurance value for a painting in history. It was assessed at US$100 million on December 14, 1962, before the painting toured the United States for several months. However, the Louvre chose to spend the money that would have been spent on the insurance premium on security instead. Taking inflation into account, the 1962 value would be approximately US$670 million in 2006.

This list is ordered by consumer price index inflation-adjusted value in millions of 2009 United States dollars. Where necessary, the price is first converted to dollars using the exchange rate at the time the painting was sold. The inflation adjustment may change as recent inflation rates are often revised. A list in another currency would probably be in a slightly different order due to exchange rate fluctuations. painting are only listed once, i.e. for the highest price sold. Enjoy the Collection…

30. Peasant Woman Against a Background of Wheat

Adjusted price: $63.1 Million | Original price: $47.5 Million

This Painting was painted by Vincent van Gogh in 1890. Stephen Wynn bought this painting in 1997.

29. Femme assise dans un jardin

Adjusted price: $63.5 Million | Original price: $49.6 Million

This painting was painted by Pablo Picasso in 1938. It was sold by Robert Saidenberg in 1999.

28. Le Rêve

Adjusted price: $64.3 Million | Original price: $48.4 Million

This painting was painted by Pablo Picasso in 1932. Ganz family sold this painting to Wolfgang Flöttl in 1997.

27. Police Gazette

Adjusted price: $67.2 Million | Original price: $63.5 Million

This painting was painted by Willem de Kooning in 1955. David Geffen sold this painting to Steven A. Cohen in 2006.

26. Femme aux Bras Croisés

Adjusted price: $68.1 Million | Original price: $55.0 Million

This painting was painted by Pablo Picasso in 1902. It was sold by McCormick family, Chicago in 2000.

25. Acrobate et jeune Arlequin

Adjusted price: $69.4 Million | Original price: $ 38.5 Million

This painting was painted by Pablo Picasso in 1905. The Heir of Roger Janssen sold this painting to Mitsukoshi in 1988.

24. Au Lapin Agile

Adjusted price: $70.0 Million | Original price: $ 40.7 Million

This painting was painted by Pablo Picasso in 1904. Daughter of Joan Whitney Payson sold this painting to Walter H. Annenberg in 1989.

23. Diana and Actaeon

Adjusted price: $70.6 Million | Original price: $ 70.6 Million

This Painting was painted by Titian. Duke of Sutherland gave this painting to National Galleries of Scotland & National Gallery, London in 2009.

22. Green Car Crash (Green Burning Car I)

Adjusted price: $73.7 Million | Original price: $71.7 Million

This painting was painted by Andy Warhol in 1963. It was sold by Private Collection, Switzerland in 2007.

21. Vase with Fifteen Sunflowers

Adjusted price: $74.5 Million | Original price: $39.7 Million

This painting was painted by Vincent van Gogh in 1888. Daughter-in-law of Chester Beatty sold this painting to Yasuo Goto, Yasuda Comp. in 1987.

20. White Center (Yellow, Pink and Lavender on Rose)

Adjusted price: $74.9 Million | Original price: $72.8 Million

This painting was painted by Mark Rothko in 1950. David Rockefeller, Sr. sold this painting to Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani in 2007.

19. Rideau, Cruchon et Compotier

Adjusted price: $77.4 Million | Original price: $60.5 Million

This painting was painted by Paul Cézanne in 1894. It was sold by Whitney Family in 1999.

18. Le Bassin aux Nymphéas

Adjusted price: $79.7 Million | Original price: $80.4 Million

This painting was painted by Claude Monet in 1919. J. Irwin and Xenia S. Miller bought it in 2008.

17. Yo, Picasso

Adjusted price: $82.3 Million | Original price: $47.85 Million

This painting was painted by Pablo Picasso in 1901. Wendell Cherry sold this painting to Stavros Niarchos in 1989.

16. A Wheatfield with Cypresses

Adjusted price: $84.1 Million | Original price: $57 Million

This painting was painted by Vincent van Gogh in 1889. Son of Emil Georg Bührle sold this painting to Walter H. Annenberg in 1993.

15. False Start

Adjusted price: $84.6 Million | Original price: $80.0 Million

This painting was painted by Jasper Johns in 1959. David Geffen sold this painting to Kenneth C. Griffin in 2006.

14. Les Noces de Pierrette

Adjusted price: $84.8 Million | Original price: $49.3 Million

This painting was painted by Pablo Picasso in 1905. Fredrik Roos sold this painting to Tomonori Tsurumaki in 1989.

13. Triptych, 1976

Adjusted price: $85.5 Million | Original price: $49.3 Million

This painting was painted by Francis Bacon in 1976. Roman Abramovich bought this in 2008.

12. Massacre of the Innocents

Adjusted price: $90.9 Million | Original price: $76.7 Million

These painting were painted by Peter Paul Rubens in 1611. An Austrian family has sold these painting to Kenneth Thomson in 2002.

11. Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer II

Adjusted price: $93.0 Million | Original price: $87.9 Million

This painting was painted by Gustav Klimt in 1912. It was sold by Maria Altmann in 2006.

10. Portrait de l’artiste sans barbe

Adjusted price: $93.5 Million | Original price: $71.5 Million

These self potraits were made by Vincent van Gogh. The first self-portrait by Van Gogh that survived, is dated 1886. These were sold by heirs of Jacques Koerfer in 1998.

9. Portrait of Joseph Roulin

Adjusted price: $99.7+ Million | Original price: $58+ Million

This painting was painted by Vincent van Gogh in 1889. A Swiss private Collection sold this painting to Museum of Modern Art New York in 1989.

8. Dora Maar au Chat

Adjusted price: $100.7 Million | Original price: $95.2 Million

This painting was painted by Pablo Picasso in 1941. It was sold by Gidwitz family in 2006.

7. Irises

Adjusted price: $101.2 Million | Original price: $53.9 Million

This painting was painted by Vincent van Gogh in 1889. Son of Joan Whitney Payson sold this painting to Alan Bond in 1987.

6. Garçon à la pipe

Adjusted price: $117.6 Million | Original price: $104.2 Million

This painting was painted by Pablo Picasso in 1905. Greentree foundation (Whitney family) sold it in 2004.

5. Bal du moulin de la Galette

Adjusted price: $127.4 Million | Original price: $78.1 Million

This painting was painted by Pierre-Auguste Renoir in 1876. Betsey Whitney sold this painting to Ryoei Saito in 1990.

4. Portrait of Dr. Gachet

Adjusted price: $134.6 Million | Original price: $82.5 Million

This painting was painted by Vincent van Gogh in 1890. Siegfried Kramarsky family sold this painting to Ryoei Saito in 1990.

3. Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I

Adjusted price: $142.8 Million | Original price: $135 Million

This painting was painted by Gustav Klimt in 1907. Maria Altmann sold this painting to Ronald Lauder & Neue Galerie in 2006.

2. Woman III

Adjusted price: $145.4 Million | Original price: $137.5 Million

This painting was painted by Willem de Kooning in 1953. David Geffen sold this painting to Steven A. Cohen in 2006.

1. No. 5, 1948

Adjusted price: $148.1 Million | Original price: $140 Million

This painting was painted by Jackson Pollock in 1948. David Geffen sold this painting to David Martinez in 2006.