"Number 17A" is an abstract expressionist painting by American painter Jackson Pollock. The piece, created in 1948, is the most expensive drip painting in the world. Pollock pioneered his drip painting technique, but initially, drip paintings were unpopular and not valued in the art market. This piece was featured in the Life Magazine in 1949, which made Pollock a household name.
4. Nafea Faa Ipoipo (When Will You Marry?) – Paul Gauguin
Price and Year of Sale: $210 million, 2014
Seller: Rudolf Staechelin Family Trust
Buyer: The emir of Qatar
"Nafea Faa Ipoipo" is an oil painting created in 1892 by French Post-Impressionist artist Paul Gauguin. He traveled to Tahiti for the first time in 1891 and fell in love with this primitive and untouched paradise. The artwork depicts two Tahitian women in a colorful and vibrant landscape and reflects his fascination with Tahitian culture and his desire to escape from Western civilization.
To find out about Gauguin’s another painting “Arearea” in the Musee de Orsay, click here.
3. The Card Players – Paul Cézanne
Price and Year of Sale: $250 million, 2011
Seller: George Embiricos
Buyer: Royal Family of Qatar
"The Card Players" is a series of oil paintings by the renowned French post-Impressionist, Paul Cézanne. Painted during Cézanne's final artistic phase in the early 1890s, the series encompasses five distinct paintings. These artworks portray different versions of men engaged in a game of cards. The versions vary in size, the number of players, and the depicted setting.
The Royal Family of Qatar bought the last version of this famous series for $250 million in 2011. And the remaining pieces are housed in prominent institutions such as the Barnes Foundation Museum in Philadelphia, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, Courtauld Institute in London and the Musée d’Orsay in Paris.
To find out about “The card players” in the Musee de Orsay, click here.
2. Interchange – Willem de Kooning
Price and Year of Sale: $300 million, 2015
Seller: David Geffen Foundation
Buyer: Kenneth C Griffin
"Interchange" is a large-scale oil painting by renowned Dutch-American abstract expressionist painter Willem de Kooning. The painting is the most expensive work of modern art ever sold and fetched the record-breaking price of $300 million in a private sale to the Chicago hedge fund manager Kenneth C. Griffin, as part of a $500 Million package including “Number 17A” by Jackson Pollock. "Interchange" is currently loaned to and displayed at the Art Institute of Chicago.
1. Salvator Mundi – Leonardo Da Vinci
Price and Year of Sale: $450 million, 2017
Seller: Dmitry Rybolovlev
Buyer: Saudi Arabian crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman
The most expensive and disputed painting ever sold belongs to Leonardo de Vinci’s "Salvator Mundi". It was auctioned at Christie’s, New York on November 15, 2017, for $450 million, breaking all auction records.
The work features Christ signaling the cross with his right hand and holding an orb in his left hand. Initially considered a copy of a lost Leonardo work, the painting gained reattribution to the Renaissance master after undergoing restoration in 2006. It was publicly displayed at the National Gallery in London in 2011, which caused a worldwide media sensation.
The debate over its authenticity continues to this day within the global art community. And the controversy surrounding the painting has even prompted the creation of a documentary, “The Lost Leonardo” which reveals the true story behind this Renaissance Masterpiece.
