Most expensive paintings: We have all heard of mastermind painters such as Paul van Gogh and Pablo Picasso, whose paintings are sold for millions. But which are the most expensive paintings in the world?
We would like to present you with a list we have compiled of the 20 most expensive paintings, in a style similar to our recap of the past year’s best paid authors.
Some of the world’s most famous paintings are not privately owned, but rather held at museums and not made available for sale.
Because of this, these paintings are not included on our countdown and they can actually be considered priceless. All of the paintings in our countdown were sold either at an auction or through a private sale. In some cases, the name of the buyer and current owner are unknown. Let’s take a look at the world’s most expensive paintings:
No. 20: False Start – Jasper Johns
Price (inflation adjusted): $92.3 million
Year: 1959
Date of sale: October 12, 2006
Buyer: Kenneth C. Griffin
No. 19: Triptych, 1976 – Francis Bacon
Price (inflation adjusted): $92.7 million
Year: 1976
Date of sale: May 14, 2008
Buyer: Roman Abramovich
No. 18: Massacre of the Innocents – Peter Paul Rubens
Price (inflation adjusted): $99. 1 million
Year: 1611
Date of sale: July 10, 2002
Buyer: Kenneth Thomson
No. 17: Portrait de l’artiste sans barbe – Vincent van Gogh
Price (inflation adjusted): $101.5 million
Year: 1889
Date of sale: November 19, 1998
Buyer: N/A
No. 16: Adele Bloch-Bauer II – Gustav Klimt
Price (inflation adjusted): $101.5 million
Year: 1912
Date of sale: November 2, 2006
Buyer: N/A
No. 15: Eight Elvises – Andy Warhol
Price (inflation adjusted): $107.5 million
Year: 1963
Date of sale: October 2008
Buyer: N/A
No. 14: Irises – Vincent van Gogh
Price (inflation adjusted): $108.7 million
Year: 1889
Date of sale: November 11, 1987
Buyer: Alan Bond
No. 13: Dora Maar au Chat – Pablo Picasso
Price (inflation adjusted): $109.5 million
Year: 1941
Date of sale: May 3, 2006
Buyer: Boris Ivanishvili
No. 12: Portrait of Joseph Roulin – Vincent van Gogh
Price (inflation adjusted): $110 million + exchange of works
Year: 1889
Date of sale: August 1, 1989
Buyer: Museum of Modern Art, New York
No. 11: Nude, Green Leaves and Bust – Pablo Picasso
Price (inflation adjusted): $113.6 million
Year: 1932
Date of sale: May 4, 2010
Buyer: N/A
No. 10: Flag – Jasper Johns
Price (inflation adjusted): $117.6 million
Year: 1954
Date of sale: March 2010
Buyer: Steven A. Cohen
No. 9: The Scream – Edvard Munch
Price (inflation adjusted): $121.4 million
Year: 1895
Date of sale: May 2, 2012
Buyer: Leon Black
No. 8: Garçon à la pipe – Pablo Picasso
Price (inflation adjusted): $128.2 million
Year: 1905
Date of sale: May 4, 2004
Buyer: Barilla Group
No. 7: Bal du Moulin de la Galette – Pierre-Auguste Renoir
Price (inflation adjusted): $140.7 million
Year: 1876
Date of sale: May 17, 1990
Buyer: Ryoei Saito
No. 6: Portrait of Dr. Gachet – Vincent van Gogh
Price (inflation adjusted): $148.6 million
Year: 1890
Date of sale: May 15, 1990
Buyer: Ryoei Saito
No. 5: Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I – Gustav Klimt
Price (inflation adjusted): $154.9 million
Year: 1907
Date of sale: June 28, 2006
Buyer: Ronald Lauder, Neue Galerie
No. 4: Le Rêve – Pablo Picasso
Price (inflation adjusted): $155 million
Year: 1932
Date of sale: March 26, 2013
Buyer: Steven A. Cohen
No. 3: Woman III – Willem de Kooning
Price (inflation adjusted): $158.8 million
Year: 1953
Date of sale: November 18, 2006
Buyer: Steven A. Cohen
No. 2: No.5, 1948 – Jackson Pollock
Price (inflation adjusted): $161.7 million
Year: 1948
Date of sale: November 2, 2006
Buyer: David Martinez
No. 1: The Card Players – Paul Cézanne
Price (inflation adjusted): $268. 1 million
Year: 1893
Date of sale: April 2011
Buyer: Royal Family of Qatar
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