Humans have been creating paintings for more than 40,000 years since our far-removed ancestors began scribbling shapes on cave walls with berries, mud, and ash. In today’s world, art has far surpassed these primitive origins. Even people with no art history knowledge can recognize the expensive paintings of famous painters like Vincent Van Gogh, Leonardo Da Vinci, Claude Monet, and Pablo Picasso.
The expensive paintings of these world-class artists are usually considered priceless because they are owned by museums, and museums rarely sell these kinds of paintings. Unlike museums, there are major players in the art world who exchange massive amounts of money every day, buying and selling the most expensive paintings in the world.
Why Do Paintings Cost so Much?
There are lots of reasons why some expensive paintings cost such huge sums of money.
In 2023 there will be more art collectors around the world than we have ever seen before. The new loosening of government restrictions on nations like India and China opens up a whole new demographic of collectors and investors who want to buy and sell expensive paintings.
The art industry has always been bound up with fame, luxury, fashion, and wealth since its inception centuries ago. It doesn’t matter if you are an art buff or an opportunist, buying the most expensive painting is a status symbol and a mark of wealth.
There is a huge demand for expensive paintings and quality artwork for wealthy collectors. So much so that the demand is often much bigger than the supply. This works to drive the price up through supply and demand economics.
You also have to consider scarcity, since the most famous artists are dead and cannot create any more work like the beautiful ones the artists painted.
Artists like Vincent Van Gogh, Pablo Picasso, and Monet aren’t going to produce any expensive paintings anytime soon!
Art Professionals
Another factor in art prices comes from the world of art professionals. Artists, gallery owners, museum curators, and dealers like Thomas Ammann Fine Art help drum up demand and promote paintings. They decide what the most expensive paintings in the world sell for.
These are the gatekeepers of the art industry and help set the value of an artwork. They decide what art is considered good and which artists might become the next big thing.
Fifteen Sunflowers
In 1987, Vincent Van Gogh’s painting called Vase with Fifteen Sunflowers sold for $39 million. That sale tripled the previous sale record for a famous piece of art and ushered in a new era of outsized art sales for expensive paintings.
Before this sale, the most expensive painting ever sold was Andrea Mantegna’s Adoration of the Magi. It was purchased from Christie’s Auction London in 1985 by the J. Paul Getty Museum.
The record-breaking sale of Vincent Van Gogh’s Fifteen Sunflowers marked the first “modern” artist to become a sales record holder instead of an old master painter from before the 19th century.
In 1996, another Vincent Van Gogh painting, Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear, would go on to sell for $90 million. The image features the infamous image of Vincent Van Gogh after he cut off his ear.
10 Most Expensive Paintings in the World
Now that you know why these priceless artworks sell at such exorbitant prices, it’s time to dive right into the top 10 most expensive paintings in the world and learn all about the most expensive paintings these famous artists gifted us.
1. Salvator Mundi by Leonardo Da Vinci
- Price at Auction: $450 Million
- Where Sold: Christie’s New York
- When Sold: 2017
The top contender on the list of the most expensive paintings ever was auctioned off at Christie’s New York in 2017 during a contemporary art event.
Salvator Mundi by Leonardo da Vinci sold for $450 million following an intense 19-minute bidding war. The winner was a Prince of Saudi Arabia who bought the painting in New York on behalf of the Abu Dhabi Department of Culture & Tourism.
The painting, which portrays Jesus Christ holding an orb and forming the sign of the cross, was considered an artist’s copy for many years. Then in 2006, it was restored and the masterwork of Leonardo Da Vinci became clearer to see.
So it was reattributed to him and put on display at the National Gallery in London for 5 years. Once it left the National Gallery, Salvator Mundi soon became the most expensive painting in history and is the most expensive Leonardo Da Vinci artwork today.
2. Interchange by Willem de Kooning
- Price at Auction: $300 Million
- Where Sold: Private Sale
- When Sold: 2015
Willem de Kooning created this oil on canvas painting in 1955. Sixty years later one of the world’s most expensive paintings would sell for a mind-blowing $300 million.
During the post-World War II art era, de Kooning was known for creating work like this abstract expressionist painting. He belonged to the abstract expressionist movement, also called the New York School.
After World War II ended this style of art became very popular and other famous painters include Lee Krasner, Hans Hofmann, Anne Ryan, Adolph Gottlieb, and Franz Kline, among others.
It was Franz Kline who convinced de Kooning to switch from often violent brush strokes to rapid gestural movements. Before Interchange, de Kooning was most known for painting women but changed his style and began painting abstract urban landscapes instead.
Interchange holds the record for the highest price ever paid for a painting in a private sale. The abstract oil painting broke the previous record for one of the most expensive paintings ever.
In 2015, Kenneth C. Griffin bought the famous oil painting from the David Geffen Foundation for his private collection. One of the world’s most expensive paintings is currently on loan to the Art Institute of Chicago.
3. The Card Players by Paul Cézanne
- Price at Auction: $250 Million
- Where Sold: Private Sale
- When Sold: 2011
Paul Cézanne painted a series of famous paintings in the 1890s that depicted variations on one central theme. These artworks showed different versions of men sitting at a table playing cards.
Cézanne is famous for his post-impressionist style and this particular painting is oil on canvas. Cézanne painted five of these variations in total. They vary in size, subjects, and setting.
This version of The Card Players was sold in a private sale for $250 million by the Royal Family of Qatar in 2011. It is rumored they paid double the auction record for ANY artwork ever.
At the time it was one of the most expensive paintings ever sold until Interchange broke the record.
4. Nafea Faa Ipoipo by Paul Gauguin
- Price at Auction: $229 Million
- Where Sold: Private Sale
- When Sold: 2015
This oil on canvas portrait translated to “When Will You Marry?” in English. It was created by Paul Gauguin more than a century ago in 1891. That year Gaugin took his first trip to Tahiti and it inspired the piece.
It is one of many oil on canvas works the artist painted of native Tahitian women. The painting shows two young women sitting on a lovely backdrop of golds, blues, and greens.
While no one has ever confirmed who bought this valuable painting, many people believe it was purchased by the royal family of Qatar.
5. Number 17A by Jackson Pollock
- Price at Auction: $200 Million
- Where Sold: Private Sale
- When Sold: 2015
Pollock’s famous painting from 1948 was created using liquid synthetic resin paints. The yellow paint dripped on the canvas is a stunning example of Pollock’s drip painting method.
The piece was made on fiberboard, rather than oil on canvas with oil paint, just one year after the drip method was revealed to the public. It was published in Life Magazine in 1949 and helped Pollock’s career take off.
In 2015, Kenneth C. Griffin spent $200 million to add it to his private collection alongside Interchange by Willem de Kooning. Though it is one of the most expensive paintings ever sold, it is on loan to the AIC
6. No. 6 (Violet, Green, and Red) by Mark Rothko
- Price at Auction: $186 Million
- Where Sold: Private Sale
- When Sold: 2014
Mark Rothko’s No. 6 (Violet, Green, and Red) is one of the most influential pieces of contemporary art ever created. It is also notorious for a role in the “Bouvier Affair” between Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev and his art dealer Yves Bouvier.
Rybolovlev insisted that Bouvier was a fraud and stole hundreds of millions of dollars from him by overpricing expensive paintings. Whatever the reasons, when No. 6 (Violet, Green, and Red) sold for $186 million in a private sale it set a new auction record for Rothko, becoming one of the most expensive paintings ever in the process.
7. Pendant portraits of Maerten Soolmans and Oopjen Coppit by Rembrandt
- Price at Auction: $180 Million
- Where Sold: Private Sale
- When Sold: 2015
Rembrandt painted these portraits of Maerten Soolmans and Oopjen Coopit in 1634 to celebrate their upcoming nuptials. The portraits of Soolmans and Oopjen Coppit have never been separated since their creation.
Art historians and experts share a belief that these two paintings should always be displayed together. The infamous Rothschild family sold the Portraits of Maerten Soolmans and Portrait of Oopjen Coppit from their private collection in 2015.
The Louvre and the Rijksmuseum purchased both portraits as a joint venture, splitting the $180 million bill down the middle. This was a new auction record for Rembrandt and fetched the highest price ever for his works.
Both museums will take turns displaying two of the most expensive paintings ever, so they are never separated and the general public can finally see these masterworks in person.
8. Les Femmes d’Alger Version O by Pablo Picasso
- Price at Auction: $179 Million
- Where Sold: Christie’s New York
- When Sold: 2015
In the mid-20th century, the legendary painter Pablo Picasso created a series of paintings entitled Les Femmes d’Alger or Women of Algiers in English. He created 15 versions, including Les Femmes D’Alger Version O, throughout his career as a tribute to his close friend Henri Matisse.
Les Femmes d’Alger Version O was the last of 15 oil on canvas works in the series by Pablo Picasso. Many claim Pablo Picasso was inspired by a painting called The Women of Algiers in their Apartment by Eugene Delacroix.
The painting by Pablo Picasso was sold by Christie’s New York in 2015 for $179 million. No one is sure exactly who bought the Pablo Picasso masterpiece but there are rumors the buyer is Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabar Al Thani, the former Prime Minister of Qatar.
Before that purchase, the Pablo Picasso masterpiece, one of the most expensive paintings in the world, belonged to Sally and Victor Ganz who sold it to The Saidenberg Gallery from their private collection.
9. Nu couché (Reclining Nude) by Amedeo Modigliani
- Price at Auction: $170 Million
- Where Sold: Private Sale
- When Sold: 2015
This oil on canvas work called “Reclining Nude“ comes from the famous painter Amedeo Modigliani who painted it way back in 1917. It is one of a series of reclining nude portraits inspired by Renaissance artwork.
Nu couché is one of Modigliani’s best-known works and one of the most expensive paintings ever bought. It is one of 22 different settings and reclining nudes in his portfolio. The oil on canvas sold for $170 million in 2015 to Lui Yiquan, a taxi driver turned billionaire.
Another one of Modigliani’s famous reclining nudes, Nu couché sur le côté, also sold for a huge sum.
Nu couché sur le côté sole for $157 million from Sotheby’s New York that same year. Before that Nu couché sur le côté sold for $26 million in 2003.
10. Masterpiece by Roy Lichtenstein
- Price at Auction: $165 Million
- Where Sold: Private Sale
- When Sold: 2017
Roy Lichtenstein’s pop art painting Masterpiece features Ben-Day dots and narrative material wrapped in comic book speech bubbles.
It is not oil on canvas but overlaps acrylic and silkscreen ink on canvas instead. It was inspired by old comic book illustrations.
Art collector Steven A. Cohen bought the painting from Agnes Gund for $165 million in 2017. The piece is now valued at around the highest price of $174 million.
Before the sale Gun hung the painting over the mantle of her New York home for years.
Honorable Mentions
While these two examples didn’t make our list of the most expensive paintings ever, they did sell for rather sizable sums.
Twelve Landscape Screens
This famous set of paintings was created by Qi Baishi in 1925. The painting sold at the Beijing Poly Auction in 2017 for an astounding $140 million.
The sale of Twelve Landscape Screens cemented Qi’s place as the first Chinese artist with work sold for over $100 million.
Portrait of Adele Bloch Bauer II
In 2006, Christie’s New York auction house sold the Portrait of Adele Bloch Bauer II for $88 million. Oprah Winfrey purchased the Portrait of Adele Bloch Bauer, which was the 4th most expensive painting in the world at the time.
In 204 Winfrey lent the Portrait of Adele Bloch Bauer to the MMA in New York as part of a lengthy and generous loan. Then in 2016, she sold the Portrait of Adele Bloch Bauer for $150 million to an unknown Chinese buyer.
Then the Portrait of Adele Bloch Bauer was lent to the Neue Galerie New York for an exhibition of Gustav Klimt’s work.
Who Buys Expensive Paintings?
So, who exactly is in the market for paintings from famous artists like Vincent Van Gogh, Andy Warhol, and Leonardo Da Vinci?
If you look by country, the US has the largest share of the modern art market today and the highest percentage of art collectors worldwide.
No matter what country art buyers come from, they are usually very well off, as wealth plays a major factor in the art collector’s market. According to the U.S trust, one in five high-net-worth people collects art.
People who buy art tend to be better educated too, most art collectors have college educations.
How Are Paintings Valued?
I bet you are wondering what exactly sets the price for these “priceless” paintings. You must also factor in the artist’s skill, exhibition history, size of the artwork, production costs, and sales history.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you still find yourself full of questions about the most famous images in the art world and their incredible price tags, read on for some helpful FAQs.
What was the first painting to sell for $1 million?
The first painting to sell for $1 million is Diego Velazquez’s Portrait of Juan de Pareja. The piece was created in Velasquez’s famous Baroque style. The Met Gala paid over a million for the painting in 1970, breaking the record for the most expensive painting ever at the time.
Who has the biggest private art collection?
The largest private art collection of iconic paintings and expensive artwork belongs to King Charles III.
There are 7,000 paintings in total, including some modern art pieces acquired by his late mother Queen Elizabeth II. The Queen even purchased a piece by Andy Warhol!
The Andy Warhol painting might surprise some, but Elizabeth purchased art from many modern-day artists like Sir Anish Kapoor and Lucian Freud.
How much is the Mona Lisa worth?
In 1962 Leonardo Da Vinci’s famous painting was valued at $100 million.
Accounting for inflation, that means the painting (originally painted by Leonardo Da Vinci in 1503) is worth $834 million today. That puts the Mona Lisa at the top of the most expensive paintings ever and the most valuable painting in the world.
What is the most expensive painting by a living artist?
The most expensive piece of modern art by a living artist belongs to the American artist Jasper Johns.
The highest price paid for his 1958 painting titled Flag was $110 million, making it one of the most expensive paintings by a living artist. Collector Steven A. Cohen bought the piece in 2010.
In 2014 the art sold for $36 million during a Sotheby’s New York auction.
