5 Most Expensive Paintings in the World 2024:
Art has long been a valuable expression of human lifestyle, serving as a medium of emotions, testimonies, and traditions.
However, the artwork is not just about creativity and grandeur – it is additionally something that people invest in as a status image.
Some paintings go beyond being mere artwork and admiration and have now turned out to be symbols of wealth and importance.
The art market has seen astonishing sales that reflect both the value of artistic expression and the wealth of collectors. Here, we explore the ten most expensive paintings ever sold, showcasing the remarkable prices these masterpieces fetch at auction or private sale.
1. Salvator Mundi by Leonardo da Vinci
Auctioned Price: $450 million
Leonardo da Vinci’s “Salvator Mundi,” which translates to “Saviour of the World,” is the most expensive painting ever sold. Created around the 1500s, it was auctioned at Christie’s in New York in 2017 for a staggering $450 million by Saudi Arabia’s Prince Bader bin Abdullah bin Mohammed bin Farhan al-Saud, as reported by the New York Times. However, the painting, which depicts Jesus Christ as the Saviour of the World, has sparked debates regarding its authenticity and provenance.
2. Interchange by Willem de Kooning
Auctioned Price: $300 million
Dutch-American artist Willem de Kooning, known as the “artist’s artist,” created the abstract expressionist style with his expressive paintings inspired by people, landscapes, and still life. Interchange depicts de Kooning’s transition from painting primarily ladies to more abstract urban scenes. The piece’s focal point is the pink center, which depicts a woman lying against a crowded background. The hedge fund’s CEO, Kenneth C. Griffin, purchased the oil painting from the David Geffen Foundation for $300 million in September 2015.
3. The Card Players by Paul Cézanne
Auctioned Price: $250 million
In the 1890s, Paul Cézanne made a series of five paintings portraying laborers playing cards. The picture, which portrays two guys playing a game, is more peaceful than Cézanne’s prior dramatic and colorful paintings. While most of the paintings in the series are on display in museums throughout the world, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Musée d’Orsay, the Courtauld, and the Barnes Foundation, this one was purchased by Qatar’s royal family in 2011 for $250 million.
4. Nafea Faa Ipoipo by Paul Gauguin
Auctioned Price: $210 million
French artist Paul Gauguin painted “Nafea Faa Ipoipo,” a Tahitian phrase that translates to “When Will You Marry?” One of his initial paintings was created during his first visit to Tahiti in 1891, the illustration depicts a native young woman with a white flower in her hair (a flower in the hair represents a person’s readiness for marriage in traditional Tahitian society) and her mother sitting protectively over her. While it previously stated that Swiss billionaire Rudolf Staechelin sold the Gaugin artwork to a Qatari client for $300 million, however, a lawsuit in 2017 showed that the painting only sold for $210 million.
5. Number 17A by Jackson Pollock
Auctioned Price: $200 million
Jackson Pollock, a leader in the abstract expressionist movement, is famed for his “drip” painting method, in which he would pour paint onto canvas—often on the floor—to communicate emotion via movement. Number 17A, an abstract painting with a kaleidoscope of colors on a fibreboard canvas, is one of Pollock’s early works using this method. This approach deviated from traditional procedures, emphasizing the rhythm, movement, and expression of the artist’s process. Kenneth C. Griffin, a billionaire, purchased the painting from the David Geffen Foundation for $200 million in 2015.
