The most expensive old paintings in the world. Rating of the most expensive paintings in the world

When in 2015 the painting by Paul Gauguin “When is the wedding?” was sold for record amount - 300 million dollars, the media wrote:

“What if some famous auction house put up for sale a painting by Leonardo da Vinci? Most likely, it will be sold at a very high price and top the list of the most expensive paintings in the world. However, this will never happen. At least not in this life. After all, the canvases of the great Leonardo are not in private collections, and this is the main condition for works that want to be sold.”

However, just two years later, on November 15, 2017, Salvator Mundi or The Savior of the World, a 500-year-old work confidently attributed to Leonardo da Vinci, is at Christie's in New York for $450,312,500 ( including the award) and predictably topped the list of the most expensive paintings.

So, here's what it looks like at the moment.

No. 10. $135,000,000. "Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I", Gustav Klimt, sold in 2006

One Austrian artist, referred to as "Golden Adele" and "Austrian Mona Lisa", was sold in 2006 for a then-record $135 million to American billionaire Ronald Lauder. Maria Altman sued for the right to own the painting, as Adele Bloch-Bauer bequeathed it state gallery Austria, and her husband later canceled the donation amid the events of World War II. Having entered into legal rights, Maria Altman sold the portrait to Ronald Lauder, who exhibited it in his gallery in New York.

No. 9. $137,500,000. "Woman III", Willem de Koonin, sold in 2006

Film producer and renowned collector David Geffen sold this strange abstraction in 2006 to billionaire Stephen A. Cohen. The canvas is part of a series of six masterpieces by Kooning, painted between 1951 and 1953.

No. 8. $140,000,000. "No. 5, 1948", Jackson Pollock

The painting was also sold by David Geffen, this time to David Martinez, managing partner of FinTech Advisory, according to the New York Times. The latter did not confirm this information, so the story remains a mystery shrouded in darkness.

No. 7. $142,400,000. "Three studies of Lucian Freud", Francis Bacon, sold in 2013



Francis Bacon's "Triptych of Sketches for a Portrait of Lucian Freud" written in 1969 was sold at a public auction at Christie's in 2013 for $142.4 million. The lot was exhibited by an unknown collector from Europe, and the auction lasted only six minutes.

No. 6. $155 million "Le Reve" ("Dream" or "Dream"), Pablo Picasso, sold in 2013

This is one of the most famous paintings Picasso, in which he portrayed his beloved Marie-Thérèse Walter in just one day. In 2006, Steve Wynn agreed to sell the painting to Stephen Cohen for $139 million, but the deal fell through because Wynn accidentally damaged the work. On March 26, 2013, according to the New York Post, Steven Cohen bought the painting from Wynn for $155 million.

No. 5. $170 million Amedeo Modigliani"Reclining Nude", sold in 2015



Painting Italian artist At the beginning of the 20th century, Amedeo Modigliani's Reclining Nude was sold at Christie's for $170 million. The canvas went to a buyer from China, who made bids by phone, in just 9 minutes. He purchased it for the collection of the private Long Museum in Shanghai.

No. 4. $179 million Pablo Picasso, Women of Algeria, sold 2015



Painting by Pablo Picasso "Women of Algiers (Version O)", estimated by experts at $140 million, was sold in New York for a then-record $179 million at auction auction house Christie's. Picasso painted this painting in 1955 in memory of Henri Matisse, who had died a year earlier. central figure on it is the artist's lover and his muse, Jacqueline Roque, who became Picasso's wife in 1961. The canvas is part of a series of 15 paintings created by the artist between 1954 and 1955.

No. 3. $250 million Card Players, Paul Cezanne, sold 2011

"Card Players" by Paul Cezanne, written by him in 1892 - 1893, is the third painting in a series of five works french artist, which, as the name suggests, depicts people playing cards. The remaining four works are stored in the Parisian Orsay, the New York Metropolitan, London's Cusco and in. The exact cost of the masterpiece is not known, but according to experts, it ranged from 259 to 320 million dollars. The buyer of the masterpiece was the organization Qatar Museums.

No. 2. $ 300 million Paul Gauguin "When is the wedding?" Sold in 2015

In 2015, Paul Gauguin's painting "When is the wedding?" was sold for a record $300 million. The painting was another work that went to the Qatari royal family for the same national museum, and sold it to the famous Swiss collector Rudolf Stechelin.

No. 1. $450 million "Savior of the World" by Leonardo da Vinci, sold in 2017

Salvator Mundi or The Savior of the World, a 500-year-old work confidently attributed to Leonardo da Vinci, is at Christie's in New York for $450,312,500 (including premium).

Only less than 20 paintings by the genius of the Renaissance are now known, and The Savior of the World is the last one remaining in private hands. Others belong to museums and institutes. The work has been called "the greatest artistic discovery" of the last century.

Almost a thousand collectors, antique dealers, advisers, journalists and spectators gathered for the auction in the main auction room of Rockefeller Center. Several thousand more followed the sale in live. The bidding battle started with $100 million and lasted less than 20 minutes. After the price went from $332 million in one step to $350 million, only two contenders were fighting. The price of 450 million, named by the buyer by phone, became the final one. On this moment the identity of the new owner historical paintings- including gender and even region of residence - are kept secret.

The image of Jesus Christ, which has already been dubbed the "male Mona Lisa", has become not only the record holder among paintings at public auction, but also the most expensive painting on the planet - and remains so to this day.

Painting is one of the oldest forms of art, the creative expression of the human imagination using paints, brushes, knives, palettes and other tools. The history of this type of creativity is long and unusual. The world knows many great masters such as Van Gogh, Picasso, Titian, Da Vinci... All of them were geniuses in their craftsmanship, their works were admired by their contemporaries and admired by distant descendants, museums fought for the right to exhibit them in their halls, and collectors saved up millions to possess them.

Most expensive paintings world, especially the work of the old masters, made before 1803, as a rule, are kept in museums, where they are provided with special conditions storage. Museums rarely sell them, as they are in literally words are priceless. The Guinness Book of Records ranks da Vinci's La Gioconda among the paintings with the highest insurance value in history. So on December 14, 1963, the Mona Lisa was valued at $100 million, which, taking into account inflation in 2015, was already about $780 million.

The 20th century was the beginning of millions of sales transactions art, and the leaders here were not portraits and landscapes of classical masters, but unusual and sometimes crazy paintings by new artists. So in 1987, Van Gogh's "Vase with Fifteen Sunflowers" was sold for $24.5 million ($62.8 million adjusted for inflation), which exceeded the previous record by 3 times. Already in 1990, "Portrait of Dr. Gashet" went for 82.5 (149.7) million dollars and now it is the most expensive painting by Van Gogh. Thus began the era of sales of pop art.

The works of great masters continue to appear at auctions and each time set new records for their value. The demand for private property art continues to grow by leaps and bounds. A greatest paintings continue to reach exorbitant values ​​whenever they change owners. We invite you to find out the 10 most expensive paintings that have been sold at auctions and in private deals.

The most expensive paintings in the world photos and prices.

10 $137.5 million Willem de Kooning "WomanIII", 1953

Willem de Kooning "WomanIII", 1953 | Selling price - $137.5 million

Price adjusted for inflation – $161.7 million | Year and place of sale 2006, private auction

The painting is an abstract expressionist image of a woman and is part of a series of paintings where Dutch artist Willem de Kooning explores the theme of the female body.

In this series, women are depicted in graffiti style with giant eyes, toothy smiles and creepy hands. The artist used a technique in which the image is applied with broad strokes and brush strokes on the canvas.

According to some critics, this manner of writing is a kind of way out of painful experiences and demonstrates a conflicting attitude towards women. This painting was sold by David Gaffen in November 2006 to billionaire Stephen Cohen for the hefty sum of $137 million. Over the years, inflation has increased its value by almost $ 24 million and allowed it to get into our top most expensive paintings.

9 $140 million Jackson Pollock « Number5", 1948

Jackson Pollock "Number 5", 1948 | Selling price - $140 million

Price adjusted for inflation – $161.4 million | Year and place of sale 2006, Sotheby's

Paintings by Jackson Pollock are no strangers to millions in auction deals. In November 2006, his "Number 5" sold for $140 million, the highest price ever paid at auction by an unknown buyer.

The painting is notable for its unique drip technique, when chaotic patterns are created by splashing paint layer by layer with spontaneous gestures and movements, often of the artist’s entire body. This is the so-called "action painting".

The image resembles a nest in which brown, yellow splashes and different shades gray. She also serves as an example of how Pollock treated fine arts when he considered all areas of the canvas equally, rejecting all the usual points of reference, focus and plans.

8 $170.4 million Amedeo Modigliani "Reclining Nude", 1917-1918

$170.4 million Amedeo Modigliani "Reclining Nude", 1917-1918. The most expensive paintings

Amedeo Modigliani "Reclining Nude", 1917-1918 | Price - $170.4 million

Price adjusted for inflation: $170.4 million | Year and place of sale 2015, Christie

This picture refers to famous series nude women, which Modigliani painted in 1917 under the patronage of Leopold Zborowski, a Polish dealer. The canvas took part in the artist's first and only lifetime art show in 1917 at the Bertha Weil Gallery.

The image of a naked model on a chic crimson sofa with a blue pillow caused outrage in society, so the police were forced to close the exhibition. However, many years later, in November 2015, the series was honored at Christie's auction as a revival of the nude as a subject of modernist art.

Jonathan Jones, art critic for The Guardian, wrote that Modigliani, continuing in the tradition of Titian and his Venus of Urbino, praised the sexuality of the body and elevated desire to his religion long before Picasso and Matisse.

"Reclining Nude" is the second most expensive painting in the world, with a price tag of $170 million bought at auction.

7 $179.365 million Pablo Picasso"Algerian women (version O)", 1955

Pablo Picasso"Algerian women (version O)", 1955 | Sale price — $179.365 million

year and place of sale 2015 Christie's | In 1997, it was sold to Christie's for $31.903 million.

Women of Algiers is the most expensive painting ever sold at auction, setting a world record in 2015. It is the culmination of a series of fifteen works dedicated to the position of Algerian women and inspired by the great Spanish artist XIX century by Eugene Delacroix.

In addition, the series was conceived by the genius as an elegy for his friend and rival, Henri Matisse, who died in 1954. This work perfectly demonstrates Picasso's trend towards vintage style, while maintaining his unique fresh look to the presentation of the image. The fusion of kitsch, postmodern and classic made this painting truly outstanding and therefore desirable for private ownership.

6 $180 million

Rembrandt van Rijn, Portraits of Marten Solmans and Opjen Coppit, 1634

Selling price - $180 million | Price adjusted for inflation – $180 million.

Year and place of sale 2015, private auction

The paintings were commissioned from Rembrandt on the occasion of the wedding of Maarten Solmans and Opjen Coppit. Although the portraits were painted separately from each other, they were kept together from the moment they were created. Unlike many couples portraits XVII centuries, the two have always hung side by side in various collections in Amsterdam and Paris. They also differ from the entire work of the artist in their size and in the fact that the figures are shown in full growth.

The portraits were kept by the couple's descendants until they were sold to the French banker Gustave Samuel de Rothschild in 1877. When his descendant Eric de Rothschild received a license to sell Rembrandt's masterpieces, 2 museums decided to buy the paintings.

Now "Portraits of Marten Solmans and Opien Coppit" are the most expensive paintings in the world, jointly owned by the Louvre in Paris and Amsterdam State Museum for a fabulous $180 million.

5 $186 million Mark Rothko"No. 6 (Violet, Green and Red)", 1951

Mark Rothko"No. 6 (Violet, Green and Red)", 1951 | Sale price — $186 million

Price adjusted for inflation – 186 million | Year of sale 2014, private auction

Mark Rothko - American artist Russian origin, pioneer of abstract expressionism. Rothko's style is characterized by the absence of defined imagery and the use of large canvases with horizontal bands of bright colors.

At the top of the canvas, Rothko uses a palette of dark shades as a symbol of the depression that many artists were experiencing. post-war period. "Purple, Green, Red" makes it to our top of the most expensive paintings in the world, since in 2014 Russian businessman Dmitry Rybolovlev bought it for an incredible amount of $ 186 million.

Later it became known that he trial against the seller of this painting, the Swiss art dealer Yves Bouvier, due to its inflated value. But while the court has not made a decision, Mark Rothko's "No. 6" remains on the list of "The Most Expensive Contemporary Paintings."

4 $200 million Jackson Pollock "Number 17A", 1948

Jackson Pollock "Number 17A", 1948 | Selling price - $200 million

Price adjusted for inflation – $200 million | Year of sale 2015, private auction

The painting is currently on display at the Art Institute of Chicago.

3 $259 million Paul Cezanne"Card Players", 1895

Paul Cezanne"Card Players", 1895 | Selling price - $259 million

Price adjusted for inflation – $273 million | year of sale 2011, private auction

The painting "Card Players" was the first in the ranking of "The most expensive paintings of artists in the world" until 2015. The canvas was bought by the royal family from Qatar from the Greek shipping magnate George Embrikos for a whopping $ 259 million. A few years of inflation and the price soared to an incredible 273 million.

This picture is one of those classic images, which you might see in art history books, gift photo albums, and luxury goods magazines. The Card Players is one of 5 paintings painted by Cezanne as part of his Impressionist series in the 1990s. It depicts two men, they are sitting at a wooden table and are completely immersed in card game. Perhaps it will be interesting to someone that the gardener and the worker of Cezanne's family estate were the models of the players.

2 about $300 million. Paul Gauguin "When will you marry?", 1892.

Paul Gauguin "When will you marry?", 1892. | Price - about $300 million

Inflation-adjusted price - approx. $300 million | Year of sale 2015, private auction

Painting by Paul Gauguin "When will you get married?" or in another translation, "When is the wedding?", albeit briefly, but became the most expensive painting in 2015, shattering the previous record when it was bought by the museums of Qatar from the private Swiss collector Rudolf Stechelin.

This postmodern gem depicts Tahitian girls in traditional and missionary dress, surrounded by the beautiful landscapes of Tahiti. It was there that Paul Gauguin fled from everything ordinary and artificial in Europe, and it was there that his bright talent was revealed.

During the life of the artist, few critics rated the picture positively. But years later, the bygone culture, frozen on the canvas, made her the most famous of the master's Tahitian period. Therefore, the most expensive paintings of 2016 include it in their honorary list.

1 $300 million Willem de Kooning Exchange. 1955

No. 1. Willem de Kooning Exchange. 1955 "Interchange" William de Kuning

Selling price - $300 million | Price adjusted for inflation – $300 million

Year of sale 2015, private auction

Here is the most expensive painting in the world in 2016, the winner of our ranking. Represents a great example of New York Abstract Expressionism and the intention of the artist to depict an ugly face modern world who is trying to get back on his feet after the devastation of World War II.

It was originally sold for $20.68 million in 1989, although preliminary forecasts were for $4-6 million. This amount was the highest ever paid for contemporary work at auction, and a record for a living artist.

Only 26 years have passed, and "The Exchange" got into the 10 most expensive paintings in the world, taking the honorable first place. This happened when the notorious Ken Griffin made the largest private deal in the history of art and paid $500 million for 2 canvases: "The Exchange" cost him $300 million, and Pollock's "Number 17A" $200 million.

Paintings have long been a successful investment and investment in a brighter future. It is difficult to say why this or that canvas is knocked out in the top and collectors are ready to outbid its arcs from a friend, with each transaction only increasing the price of the painting, while other no less worthy works of the same, and other talented painters, humbly stand in the corner. But the fact that tens and even hundreds of millions of dollars were paid for some creations is an indisputable fact.

10. Portrait of Dr. Gachet

Vincent van Gogh was so imbued with gratitude to his doctor that he immortalized him in 1890 in the painting, which he called “Portrait of Dr. Gachet”. Starting in 1990 and for a decade and a half, this canvas took first place in terms of price in all ratings. The last owner was a Japanese industrialist who ordered that he be cremated and buried along with the portrait, but whether this was done or not is not known for certain, but the picture has not been seen for 21 years.

9 Orange Red Yellow ($76 million)

The buyer, who bought the painting by Marco Rothko for $76 million, did not want to make his name public. Russian artist created a work in 1961 and it continued a number of his canvases, known as color segmental abstraction. “Orange, red, yellow” is the case when the title fully reflects the content.

8. Triptych ($86 million)

This is the most expensive post-war picture, was painted in 1976. Three panels of equal size are by Francis Bacon. The artist placed on them ravens, blood, human entrails and organs in a distorted form. Today, this composition adorns the collection of the famous oligarch Roman Abramovich. The price paid for the masterpiece is $86 million.

7. Adele Bloch-Bauer ($87 million)

Gustav Klimt laid the foundation for Art Nouveau in Switzerland. preferred to write female bodies, to whom he treated with great sympathy, since his work is permeated with lightness and extraordinary eroticism. The artist treated some models with a special disposition, for example, Adele Bloch-Bauer, with whom he worked on four paintings. Her 1912 portrait sold for $87 million private collection 11 years ago.

6. Dora Maar with a cat ($95 million)

Dora Maar has occupied the role for more than a decade main woman in the life of the great Picasso. She was not only his lover, beloved, friend, but, of course, a model. 1941 Paris is under German occupation, the relationship of longtime lovers is rapidly deteriorating. At this moment, Pablo writes "Dora Maar with a cat." As the artist himself admitted, for him at that moment the war around and inside him mixed up and resulted in this work, the price of which would later be more than 95 million dollars. Today its owner is businessman Boris Ivanishvili.

5 Pipe Boy ($104 million)

This is not the end of Picasso's participation in the top ten most expensive paintings. Even at the very beginning of his creative career 24-year-old Pablo painted a portrait of a boy holding a pipe. The head of the young man is decorated with a pink wreath, the name of the sitter is not known. For 104 million dollars, "Boy with a Pipe" went to a private collection of an Italian connoisseur.

4 Silver Crash ($105 million)

Andrey Warhola, better known as Andy Urhola, was a creative person. His work has left its mark in literature, painting, film directing. He was engaged in design, publishing, produced. And at the same time, he became a truly iconic character in pop art. His most outstanding creation was created in 1963 and is a composition of two canvases. Left side made in the technique of silk-screen printing and contains 15 monochrome photographs transferred to canvas from newspapers. The photographs captured how the car crashed into a tree trunk.

The right side is empty, but covered with silver paint. The composition called "Silver Catastrophe" or "Double Catastrophe" has a fairly decent size. Its length is almost 2.5 meters, and its height is 4 meters. The work was bought for $105.4 million in a 2013 auction by a Sotheby's employee for a client who did not want his name to be made public.

3 Nude, Green Leaves & Bust ($106.5 million)

The top three is opened by Pablo Picasso with his surreal painting 1932 Nude, green leaves and bust. This canvas is an episode of a series in which the artist in love intricately transformed and depicted in his own unique manner the new object of his love, Marie-Thérèse Walter. A man in love created whole line works where his desired muse is depicted sleeping and exalted by him to the level of a sexual goddess. True, it was not necessary for his wife to know about this, and therefore Pablo worked while Olga Khokhlova (his legal wife) was with her friend in the village of Bouagelou, not far from the heart of France.

In 2010, the canvas for 106.5 million dollars went under the hammer in auction house Christie. An unknown collector became the third owner of the painting and the owner of the most expensive piece of art sold at auction that day.

2. Scream ($119.9 million)

The Norwegian expressionist Edvard Munch could hardly have guessed when he wrote The Scream that this particular painting would become his calling card. Work on the first version began in 1893, but only 17 years later the artist was able to recreate the last one. Edward suffered from mental disorders, was treated in a clinic and, of course, that feeling of hopelessness, loneliness and horror could not but be reflected in his works. The gloomy aggression of the surrounding world and genuine unbridled fear on the face of a person depicted on canvas are charged with such powerful energy that is transmitted even through copies and reproductions. Is it any wonder that the American financier Leon Black gave 119.9 million dollars in 2012 for the opportunity to own the original canvas.

1. The most expensive painting - "Three sketches for a portrait of Lucian Freud" ($ 142.2 million)

The first place in the nomination "The most expensive painting" belongs to the work of the English expressionist, the master of the figurative style of Francis Bacon "Three sketches for a portrait of Lucian Freud". This triptych stands out from a number of other works of the author due to its colors, it is brighter and more saturated than in other works. The painting depicts a friend of the artist sitting on a chair in several different poses and from different angles. It was painted in 1969, and in 2013 it was recognized as the most expensive painting in the world thanks to an unknown buyer who donated $142.2 million for sketches.

You can share admiration for the most expensive paintings, not understand them or ignore them, but today these paintings are valuable, both from the point of view of art and from the financial side.

50. Gustav Klimt, "Birch Forest" (1903)

Painting sold for $40.336 million in 2006

49. Vincent van Gogh, "Sunflowers" (1888)

Painting sold for $40.5 million in 1987

48. Pablo Picasso, "In Lapin Agil" (1904)

Painting sold for $40.7 million in 1989

47. Pablo Picasso, "Reading" (1932)

Painting sold for $40.7 million in 2011

46. Claude Monet, Railroad bridge in Argenteuil" (1873)

Painting sold for $41.5 million in 2008

45. Francis Bacon, Self Portrait (1978)

Painting sold for $43 million in 2007

44. Gustav Klimt, "Church in Casson" (1913)

Painting sold for $43.208 million in 2010

43. Andy Warhol, 200 dollar bills (1962)

Painting sold for $43.8 million in 2009

42. Pablo Picasso, "Nude in a black chair" (1932)

Painting sold for $45.103 million in 1999

41. Henri Matisse, "Daffodils and a Tablecloth in Blue and Pink"(1911)

Painting sold for $46.4 million in 2009

40. Francis Bacon, The Second Version of the Bullfight. Number 1" (1969)

Painting sold for $45.96 million in 2007

39. Vincent van Gogh, "Peasant Woman with a Straw Hat" (1890)

Painting sold for $47.5 million in 1997

38. William Turner, "Modern Rome - Campo Vaccino" (1939)

Painting sold for $47.55 million in 2010

37. Raphael Santi, Head of the Muse

Drawing sold for $47.6 million in 2009

36. Pablo Picasso, "Self-portrait" (1901)

Painting sold for $47.8 million in 1989

35. Pablo Picasso, The Dream (1932)

Painting sold for $48.403 million in 1997

34. Pablo Picasso, Woman Seated in a Garden (1938)

Painting sold for $49.503 million in 1999

33. Mark Rothko, "Number 15" (1952)

Painting sold for $50.4 million in 2009

32. Pablo Picasso, "Portrait of Angel de Soto" (1903)

Painting sold for $51.586 million in 2010

31. Pablo Picasso, "Pierrette's Wedding" (1905)

Painting sold for $51.670 million in 1989

30. Francis Bacon, "Study for a Portrait of Innocent X" (1965)

Painting sold for $52.7 million in 2007

29. Vincent van Gogh, "Irises" (1889)

Painting sold for $53.9 million in 1987

28. Paul Gauguin, Bathers (1902)

Painting sold for $55 million in 2005

27. Pablo Picasso, Woman with Crossed Arms (1901-1902)

Painting sold for $55.006 million in 2000

26. Vincent van Gogh, "Cypress Wheat Field" (1889)

Painting sold for $57 million in 1993

25. Kazimir Malevich, "Suprematist composition" (1916)

Painting sold for $60 million in 2008

24. Paul Cezanne, "Still life with jug and drapery" (1893-1894)

Painting sold for $60.503 million in 1998

23. Andy Warhol, The Men in Her Life (1962)

Painting sold for $63.4 million in 2010

22. Willem de Kooning, Police Gazette (1955)

Painting sold for $63.5 million in 2006

21. Thomas Eakins, Gross Clinic (1875)

Painting sold for $68 million in 2007

20. Amedeo Modigliani, Seated Nude on a Sofa (1917)

Painting sold for $68.962 million in 2010

19. Titian, Diana and Actaeon (1556-1559)

Painting sold for $70.6 million in 2009

18. Vincent van Gogh, "Portrait of an Artist Without a Beard" (1889)

Painting sold for $71.501 million in 1998

17. Andy Warhol, "Green Car Crash" (1963)

Painting sold for $71.72 million in 2007

16. Mark Rothko, White Center (1950)

Painting sold for $72.8 million in 2007

15. Peter Paul Rubens, Massacre of the Innocents (1609-1611)

Painting sold for $75.930 million in 2002

14. Pierre Auguste Renoir, Ball at the Moulin de la Galette (1876)

Painting sold for $78.1 million in 2002

13. Andy Warhol, Turquoise Marilyn (1964)

Painting sold for $80 million in 2007

12. Jasper Johns, "False Start" (1959)

Painting sold for $80 million in 2006

11. Claude Monet, Water Lily Pond (1919)

Painting sold for $80.5 million in 2008

10. Vincent van Gogh, "Portrait of Dr. Gachet" (1890)

Painting sold for $82.5 million in 1990

9. Francis Bacon, Triptych(1974-1977)

Painting sold for $86.2 million in 2008

8. Gustav Klimt, "Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer II" (1912)

Painting sold for $87.936 million in 2006

7. Pablo Picasso, "Portrait of Dora Maar" (1941)

Painting sold for $95.216 million in 2006

6. Andy Warhol, "Eight Elvises" (1963)

Painting sold for $100 million in 2008

5. Pablo Picasso, "Boy with a pipe" (1905)

Painting sold for $104.168 million in 2004

4. Pablo Picasso, "Nude in front of a bust and green leaves" (1932)

Painting sold for $106.482 million in 2010

3. Gustav Klimt, "Portrait of Adele Bloch Bauer" (1907)

Painting sold for $135 million in 2006

2. Willem de Kooning, "Woman III" (1953)

Painting sold for $137.5 million in 2006

1. Jackson Pollock, "Number 5" (1948)

Painting sold for $140 million in 2006

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