11 Of The Most Expensive Paintings Ever Sold At Auction

Patrons and art lovers have been collecting the works of famous masters for centuries. Perhaps the ultimate irony of this is that although many of history’s most famous painters died in near abject poverty, their deaths made their most famous works more valuable. It’s an unfortunate reality that the law of supply and demand means that because a deceased master can no longer provide supply, the demand for their work skyrockets.

Art masterpieces serve both as proxies for their artist and symbols of the era during which they were created, which captivates the imaginations of wealthy art patrons. Whenever an art patron buys a great work, they have a piece of history, and in a world where bragging rights reign supreme, whoever has the most pieces wins. 

This is why great paintings are fetching eight- and nine-figure auction prices. 

So, what are the most expensive paintings ever sold at auction? 

No. 11: Edvard Munch, “The Scream,” $135 million

Edvard Munch was a Norwegian painter born in 1863. After a childhood blighted by frequent bouts of ill health and immense personal tragedies, Munch pioneered a style known as “soul painting” where he used his art as a window into his mindstate and psychological well-being. 

“The Scream” was inspired by a panic attack Munch had while on a walk in Oslo. It would come to symbolize the fears shared by many Europeans as the old world of small villages and country farms faded and gave way to the industrial revolution and modern cities we know today. 

“The Scream” painting has several versions. There are painted versions from 1893 and 1910, and pastel versions from 1895. The original pastel version debuted in 1893 and the second version came out in 1910 when Munch decided to redo some of his old pastel pieces in paint. There are also several lithographs.

Once “The Scream” became accepted as a masterpiece, its provenance became an even greater object of curiosity. This work was stolen from museums twice, first in 1994 and again in 2004, but was recaptured by the authorities on both occasions.

In 2012 the pastel version of “The Scream” was owned by Norwegian businessman Petter Olson. He put the painting up for auction through Sotheby’s of London with a minimum opening bid of $40 million. In less than 12 minutes, it was over and “The Scream” sold for a final hammer price of $135 million. 

No. 10: Pablo Picasso, “Garcon a la Pipe,” $142 million

Pablo Picasso was one of the true giants of painting in the 20th century. Born in Malaga, Spain, in 1881, Picasso had a career that spanned several decades and multiple artistic phases. He did much of his greatest work while shuttling between Barcelona, Spain, and Paris, France. He was such an immense artistic figure that there are museums in his honor in both cities.

In 1905, Picasso was in the middle of what was known as his Rose Period, characterized by his use of orange and peach pastels to portray harlequins, clowns and circus acrobats. He also painted many portrayals of French people in everyday life and that’s when “Garcon a La Pipe” or “boy with a pipe” came to be. 

Although it was never considered one of Picasso’s truly great works, this piece sold for an eye-popping price of $142 million. 

No. 9: Qi Baishi, “Screens of Landscapes,” $148.7 million

Qi Baishi was born in Xiantang in China’s Hunan province in 1864. Like many great artists, he came from humble beginnings. He discovered his love for art quite by accident. Qi spent most of his early life as a carpenter and didn’t become a painter until he happened upon a traditional Chinese painting book known as the “Manual of the Mustard Seed Garden.”

He started his art with traditional Chinese Gongbi, a realist style characterized by precise brushstrokes, lots of color and natural themes such as trees or birds in nature. The quality of his work generated notoriety, and he was respected for the fact that there were no obvious Western influences in his work, which was of a decidedly Chinese style. 

Qi was a prolific painter and depending on the estimate you believe, he did an estimated 15,000 pieces. Unfortunately, this made his work a popular target for forgers. After selling one piece for an estimated $65 million in 2011, Qi shattered expectations again when his work “12 Screens of Landscapes” sold for an astronomical $140.9 million by Poly Chinese Auction House.

No 8: Pierre August Renoir, “Bal du Moulin de la Galette,” $154.7 million

No list of expensive paintings would be complete without Pierre August Renoir’s name on it. His works have graced the houses of French aristocracy since the 1900s. Renoir was born in 1841 in Limoges, France. He was inspired to begin painting when his family moved to a neighborhood near the Louvre museum in Paris in 1844. 

He began formally studying art in 1862 and went on to pioneer the impressionist style that he eventually became famous for. Unfortunately for Renoir, the Franco-Prussian war broke out in 1864 and dominated the headlines both in his home country and across Europe so he had to wait before achieving real notoriety for his works. 

In 1876, he painted “Bal du Moulin de la Galette,” which was a duplicate, albeit smaller, rendering of a painting that sits in the Musee d’Orsay in Paris. Sotheby’s New York would be trusted with the sale, and when the final hammer struck in 1990, Bal du Moulin sold for $154.7 million. That’s an astronomical price today, but in 1990, a number like that was almost unthinkable. 

No. 7: Francis Bacon, “Three Studies of Lucien Freud,” $158.2 million

Francis Bacon was born in 1909 in Dubin, Ireland. He spent much of his early adult drifting through London, where he sustained himself with his late mother’s pension and engaging in small-time criminal theft. Bacon didn’t begin painting until he was nearly 30. By that point, his exposure to the works of writers like Friedrich Nietzsche had instilled him with a somewhat dour outlook on life. 

His painting reflected that, and Bacon’s work became famous for its uncompromisingly raw and sometimes disturbing themes. Bacon was also known for doing several works of the same subject, which he completed as in sets of twos and threes (also known as diptych and triptych). At some point during his time in London, Bacon became friends with British painter Lucien Freud, the grandson of famed psychology pioneer Sigmund Freud. 

In 1926, he created what would be the most valuable of all his triptych paintings, “Three Studies of Lucien Freud.” The three paintings captured Freud in a very authentic state and spoke to the friendship that existed between the artist and his subject. Although the two would later have a severe falling out, it had no effect on the value of Bacon’s masterpiece. In November 2013, Christie’s Auction House in New York sold it for a final hammer price of $158.2 million. 

No. 6: Amadeo Modigliani, “Nu Couche (Sur le Cote Gauche),” $162 million

Amadeo Modigliani was born in Livorno, Italy, in 1884, where even as a child he showed a passion for the arts. After being stricken with a bout of typhoid fever, he begged his mother to take him to see the work of the Italian renaissance masters in Florence, Italy. At the time, Livorno’s art museum featured very few of those works. Modigliani’s mother took him to Florence and arranged for him to learn art from Italian master Gugliemo Micheli.

He would eventually move to Paris and become a contemporary of Picasso. In the early 1900s, he painted a series of nudes that would become his signature works. Nu Couche (Sur le Côté Gauche) was completed in 1917. The piece sold for $162 million 100 years later at an auction hosted by Sotheby’s New York. 

No. 5: Vincent Van Gogh, “Portrait of Dr. Gachet,” $163.4 million

Vincent Van Gogh is perhaps the ultimate example of a starving artist whose work became invaluable after his death. He was born in the Netherlands in 1853 and only lived for 37 years. Like many artists, Van Gogh’s talent lost the race to his mental issues and inability to manage his finances. At one point, he even cut his ear off after a severe bout with mental illness. 

However, his works became legendary and the desire for them has only increased in the years since his death. “Portrait of Dr. Gachet” is a rendering of one of his caretakers. The work sold for $163.4 million at an auction run by Christie’s New York in 1990. It’s hard to imagine how much it would be worth in today’s dollars. 

No. 4: Amadeo Modigliani, “Nu Couche,” $186 million

The irony of Modigliani is that although his work was not highly sought after during his relatively short life, it has become almost invaluable after his death. “Nu Couche,” not to be confused with “Nu Couche (Sur le Cote Gauche,)” was part of the same series of works. It would sell for an unbelievable final price of $186 million by Christie’s New York in 2015. 

No. 3: Pablo Picasso, “Les Femmes d’Alger (Version O)” $168 million

Picasso had many different stages of his career, including cubism, which is the style he was arguably most famous for. Cubism was inspired by Picasso’s exposure to African art and statues in Paris. “Les Femmes d’Alger,” which translates to “The Women of Algeria,” typified cubism. It’s why he appears on this list a second time. The work sold for $168 million at an auction held by Christie’s New York.

No 2: Andy Warhol, “Shot Sage Blue Marilyn” $195 million

Andy Warhol was a leading figure in the pop art movement in the 20th century. The artist became most known for depicting pop culture in his artwork, such as his famous Campbell’s Soup print and his series of Marilyn Monroe paintings. Shot Sage Blue Marilyn set a new record for the most expensive work of contemporary art to be sold at auction in May 2022, selling for $195 million at Christie’s New York.

No. 1: Leonardo da Vinci, “Salvator Mundi,” $475.4 million

Leonardo da Vinci is perhaps the most famous artist of all time. His works have stood the test of time, and he’s become symbolic of the Italian Renaissance. His most famous works decorate the Louvre and many of the world’s most famous art museums. So, it stands to reason that one of his works would be No. 1 on this list. 

“Salvator Mundi” may not be as famous as the “Mona Lisa,” but it was certainly highly prized by art collectors. At a 2017 auction held by Christie’s New York, this work sold for an incredible price of nearly $500 million. This number dwarfs the price of all the other works on the top 10 list, and nothing has come close to the price since. 

Final Thoughts

As you can see, art is not only an object of passion for collectors, it can be incredibly lucrative to own. Many of the works on this list likely have tremendously appreciated in value since their record-breaking auction prices. Investors have also taken notice, and fine art is as much in demand from investors as it is from collectors. 

If you'd like to invest in fine art, but don’t have the money to buy a work by Picasso, VanGogh or da Vinci, you can still get in the game. Masterworks.IO and Yieldstreet are both investment platforms that allow investors to own slices of fine art by great masters. So maybe the next time the hammer strikes on a record-breaking work, you might be able to benefit, too.