Top 10 Art Sales in 2013

Art has played an important role in society since the very inception of mankind; art brings beauty and enhances the world we live in. For some people, art simply represents a means to obtain a sense of joy, elation, and pleasure. For others, it is a way to reflect their culture and tradition. In some cases, art has a historical significance, while in others it is just a means to evoke the artist’s inner feelings.

Even though people collect art for different reason, they all have one thing in common: any serious art collector is someone of above average financial means. Millions of dollars are spent each year on art sales of all kinds, as collectors try to expand their ever-growing displays. Some of the most popular art collectors in the world include names such as Francois Pinault, A. Chen, or Bernard Arnault, but there a lot of collectors out there who choose to keep their art collection hidden from the public.

Following, we would like to present you with a list we have compiled of the top 10 art sales in 2013, according to the data released earlier this year by Bloomberg. The following art pieces were ranked according to their sale price. We’ve also included the title and the artist of the art piece, as well as the place where the sale was made. Buyers’ names are not included, as most of the following sales were made anonymously.

Curious to see what’s the most expensive art piece sold in 2013? Let’s take a look at the countdown.

No. 10: Saying Grace, Norman Rockwell

Sold For – $46 million

Sold at – Sotheby’s, New York, December 2013

No. 9: No. 11, Mark Rothko

Sold for – $46 million

Sold at – Christie’s New York, November 2013

No. 8: Dustheads, Jean-Michael Basquiat

Sold for – $48.8 million

Sold at – Christie’s New York, May 2013

No. 7: Grande tête mince (Grande tête de Diego), Alberto Giacometti

Sold for – $50 million

Sold at – Sotheby’s, New York, November 2013

No. 6: Woman with Flowered Hat, Roy Lichtenstein

Sold for – $56.1 million

Sold at – Christie’s, New York, May 2013

No. 5: Coca-Cola (3), Andy Warhol

Sold for – $57.2 million

Sold at – Christie’s, New York, November 2013

No. 4: Number 19, Jackson Pollock

Sold for – $58.3 million

Sold at – Christie’s, New York, May 2013

No. 3: Balloon Dog (Orange), Jeff Koons

Sold for – $58.4 million

Sold at – Christie’s, New York, November 2013

No. 2:Silver Car Crash (Double Disaster), Andy Warhol

Sold for – $104 million

Sold at – Sotheby’s, New York, November 2013

No. 1: Three Studies of Lucian Freud, Francis Bacon

Sold for – $142.4 million

Sold at – Christie’s, New York, November 2013