Recently, Pablo Picasso’s Les femmes d'Alger (version 'O') sold for $179.4 million and broke the record for the most expensive artwork to be sold at an auction. Here is a list of a few more record-breaking art pieces:
1. Earlier this year, the most expensive painting ever sold privately at an auction was ‘When will you marry me?’ (Nafea Faa Ipoipo?) by Paul Gauguin that sold for close to $300 million. Painted in 1892, the post-impressionist piece was inspired by the artist’s first trip to Tahiti. The piece was part of the Rudolf Staechelin collection, which contains a number of valuable impressionist and post-impressionist paintings collected by Staechelin. The piece was sold by the Rudolf Staechelin family trust which did not wish to disclose who the buyer was or the exact price at which the painting was sold.
2.The second most expensive painting is also a post-impressionist piece bought in a private sale by the Kingdom of Qatar — Paul Cézanne’s ‘The Card Players’ was purchased for more than $250 million in 2011. This piece is one in ‘The Card Players’ series, which consists of five paintings and were painted by the artist in the 1890s. While the other pieces in the series hang in museums, this version was owned and sold by Greek shipping magnate George Embiricos. Some believe the painting was sold for nearly $320 million which would then make it the most expensive piece of art in the world.
3. The bidding for Pablo Picasso’s ‘Les femmes d'Alger’ (Version 'O') opened at $100 million at the Christie’s auction in May this year. The painting was expected to fetch $140 million, but went on to sell at a record-breaking price of $179.4 million, making it the most expensive artwork sold at an auction. The person who won the bid preferred to remain unidentified. The cubist oil version ‘O’ was painted in 1955 and is one in a series that was inspired by French master Eugène Delacroix’s 1834 painting ‘The Women of Algiers in their Apartment’. Interestingly, ‘Les femmes d'Alger’ (Version 'O') went on auction once before in 1997 where it sold for $31.9 million.
4. The Jackson Pollock piece ‘No.5, 1948’ considered one of the most important pieces of the abstract expressionism movement was sold in 2006 by entertainment magnate David Geffen for a whopping $140 million. The deal was brokered privately by Sotheby’s and while there has never been any confirmation on who the buyer of the classic drip painting was, many believe it now belongs in the private collection of Mexican businessman David Martínez.
5. The fifth most expensive piece of art was also sold by Hollywood mogul David Geffen in 2006. The abstract expressionism painting ‘Woman III’ by Willem de Kooning was bought by billionaire Steven A. Cohen for $137.5 million directly from the buyer. This painting is one in a series of six painted by the artist in the early 1950s, the other five are all displayed in museums. Originally, ‘Women III’ belonged to the Tehran Museum, but in 1994 was traded to Geffen in exchange for the remainder of the painted 16th century Persian manuscript, Tahmasbi Shahnameh. Cohen who is quite the art collector, also picked up Pablo Picasso’s Le Rêve for $155 million in 2013. But when you adjust the prices of the other paintings for inflation, Le Rêve falls further down the list.
6. A record was set for an Indian artwork sold at auction when Christie’s held its first auction in Mumbai, India in 2013. An untitled painting by Vasudeo S. Gaitonde sold for $3.8 million. The abstract painting was bought by a private collector based in the U.S. The previous record for an Indian artwork was held by the painting ‘Saurashtra’ by Syed Haider Raza, which sold in 2010 for $3.5 million at a Christie’s auction. While Gaitonde passed away in 2001, Raza’s work sold for the record-breaking price in his lifetime.
7. The tag of most valuable sculpture in the world goes to the 1947 bronze sculpture, ‘Pointing Man’ by Alberto Giacometti. At the same auction where Picasso’s ‘Les femmes d'Alger’ (Version 'O') sold for $179.4 million, the life-size sculpture fetched $141 million, making it the most expensive sculpture sold at auction. The buyer preferred to remain anonymous. But you can still view the piece, as the artist made six casts of ‘Pointing Man’ or ‘L’homme au doigt’ two of which are displayed at New York’s Museum of Modern Art and London’s Tate Gallery.
8. Gerhard Richter’s ‘Abstraktes Bild’ set a record for the most expensive painting by a living artist when it sold for $46.3 million at a Sotheby’s auction in February of this year. But the record for most expensive artwork by a living artist goes to American artist Jeff Koons for his piece ‘Balloon Dog (Orange)’ which was purchased for $58.4 million in 2013 at a Christie’s auction.
