List of most expensive paintings
This list of most expensive paintings contains the highest prices at which works of art were sold. It currently has more than 40 paintings, over which a contract of sale for more than 35 million U.S. dollars was made public.
The earliest sale on the list is from 1987. At that time, the record sum of nearly 25 million British pounds (about $ 40 million ) was paid for a sunflower picture van Gogh. In the second half of the 1980s reached art, especially painting, always sensational high prices. Was it mainly by that time the so-called old masters, whose works for fractional amounts had been paid, now especially the French Impressionists and the early 20th century modern art were particularly high in demand. This high phase culminated in May 1990 when the Japanese collector Saitō Ryoei in New York within two days at Sotheby's for over $ 78 million Renoir's Dance at the Moulin de la Galette and at Christie's for over $ 82 million van Gogh's Portrait of Dr. Gachet auctioned. Since then, prices fell again. The general recession of the early 1990s also affected the art trade, and record prices have remained for some years from.
From the mid- 2000s appear increasingly older works in the list, such as Francis Bacon and Willem de Kooning. Around the same time is also a further marked increase in the prices observed. Thus was first auctioned with Picasso's Boy with a Pipe is a factory for more than $ 100 million in 2004. The most expensive paintings became known purchase took place in November 2013, as Bacon's work Three Studies of Lucian Freud for $ 142 million moved to an undisclosed buyer. In the spring of 2011, according to newspaper reports a picture of Paul Cézanne's The Card Players series will also be sold privately for a record sum of 250-275 million; because so far but have confirmed the purchase, neither Seller nor Buyer nor an auction house, this is not considered here.
Older maximum prices are unmatched by sums of 1987 heralded boom by far. For example, a record was set in the previous year with $ 11 million in 1980, the peak was still at $ 6.4 million. Some previous price records are listed at the end in a second list.
Demarcation
This list captures paintings based solely on their purchase price; other types of asset valuation - as estimates, rejected price offers or demands - remain outside. Many important paintings are the art market for evaluation in this form is not available, perhaps because they are in possession of the museum. Especially the old masters are rare in private ownership. The Guinness Book of World Records 1999 set, for example, exhibited in the Louvre Mona Lisa as a painting with the highest insurance value: It has been estimated at 14 December 1962 to 100 million dollars, or about $ 800 million in 2014, taking inflation into account. Purchase prices do not necessarily reflect an objective value of a work of art again, it is often speculation or fancy prices.
Each painting only the highest price is detected at which it was sold. If the picture was later traded for a lesser amount, its price is not reduced in the list. Thus, for example Renoir's Dance at the Moulin de la Galette will continue to operate with the 1990 reached $ 78.1 million, although the work was then sold again for seven years almost 50 million dollars. Nor called the list earlier sales of the same image at a lower price.
Since painting sales are not necessarily publicly known, this list can accept no completeness claim for themselves. The section Unsecured sales gives some examples of sales that were not confirmed, or of which were relevant details such as the exact purchase price not disclosed.
The list contains only works of painting. This therefore excludes other plant species, particularly drawings (for example, Degas ' Danseuse au repos of 1879, 3 November 2008 sold for $ 37,000,000 at Sotheby's in New York), prints (for example, Andy Warhol's Eight Elvises, in October 2008 for 100 million dollars privately sold), calligraphy (eg, a scroll by Huang Tingjian, on July 3, 2010 poly Auction for $ 63,800,000 at auction ) and photographs. Also illuminations were not considered, since the painted can be difficult evaluated by the book isolated (for example Gospels of Henry the Lion in 1983 as by then the most expensive work of art for $ 11.9 million at Sotheby's auction ).
The most expensive paintings
The following table gives an overview of the most expensive paintings sold. The first column contains the title or the most common German name of the image, with translations of the original title ( in italics ) is also indicated. In the second column is the name of the artist, in the third the year in which the plant.
The next columns provide information about the relevant sale. Called first the agreed purchase price in U.S. dollars. If the amount in another currency set, he was converted at the exchange rate at that time. The sums are partially rounded. Then follow the date of purchase and - if known - buyers and sellers. If the picture was auctioned, the next column lists the auction house. Sales outside of an auction are characterized here as a private sale, a possibly that has occurred as a mediator auction house is also called in this case.
Unless freely available shows the column image is an image of the painting, alternatively, an external link is given to such. The last column contains footnotes with references to the individual information.
The list is sorted according to the purchase price and can be sorted by clicking on the header for other columns. Price records, so the prices achieved to date are highest, gray.
Unsecured sales
The former most expensive paintings
The in the following table are listed the paintings, which were the most expensive to the date of disposal. In addition to the information in the first table here -adjusted price is reduced by the increase in purchasing power due to inflation given. The basis for the extrapolation of the annual inflation rate of the U.S. dollar. [Note 2]