From Leonardo da Vinci to Monet, there is a range of painters who have created classic artworks that have been preserved for centuries. Most of these are stored at museums, while a select few circulate among elite buyers and sellers. Some buy artworks for their interest in art, others consider these as status symbols. Over the years, some pieces of art have been sold for millions of dollars, indicating their high value.
Salvator Mundi
Sized at 45 x 65 cm on a walnut panel, this masterpiece by Leonardo da Vinci is valued at $450 million. The painting portrays Jesus Christ in a blue robe, holding a crystal ball in one hand and signing a cross with the other hand. In 1605, King Louis X11 of France commissioned this artwork of Salvator Mundi (Savior of the World) from Leonardo da Vinci. The painting became the most expensive of the lot when, in 2017, Dmitry Rybolovlev sold it at Christie’s New York.
Interchange
This painting is referred to as the “artist’s artist.” It was created by Dutch-American artist Willem de Kooning, who often based his work on landscapes, figures, and still life. The painting represents a shift in de Kooning’s work from painting mostly women to more abstract urban landscapes. The 200 x 175 cm oil-on-canvas painting reflects the surroundings of New York City, where the artist lived. It was sold for $300 million by the David Geffen Foundation to billionaire Kenneth C. Griffin in 2015, who has a private art collection.
The Card Players
In the 1890s, Paul Cézanne created a series of five works that depicted labor workers playing cards. Its calm nature is what makes it different from the artist’s previously dramatic and colorful works. Most pieces in the series are displayed at museums throughout the world. One was purchased by the Royal Family of Qatar from Greek shipping tycoon George Embiricos for about $250 million in 2011. This oil-on-canvas, 97 x 130 cm large painting was also one of the most expensive artworks sold during this time.
Nafea Faa Ipoipo?
The 101 x 77 cm oil-on-canvas painting was created by French artist Paul Gauguin. The Nafea Faa Ipoipo? (When Will You Marry?) painting displays two young women sitting in front of each other in a green and blue earthly setting. Gauguin was inspired to paint it during his first tour to the island of Tahiti in 1891. Valued at $210 million, the painting was once sold for about $300 million in 2015, making it one of the most expensive canvases in the artist realm.
Number 17A
Jackson Pollock created this stellar piece of art using liquid synthetic resin paints on a composition board. The artist used techniques like drip painting, which included splattering oil paint across the fiberboard. Those who observe this 112 cm x 86 cm large painting will notice his technique in the yellow portions, which trickle down on the canvas. At the time (1948), this method was new, which may have contributed to the artwork’s popularity. Billionaire Kenneth C. Griffin purchased the Number 17A painting from the David Geffen Foundation in 2015 for $200 million.
The Standard Bearer
In 2022, Elie de Rothschild in Paris sold the painting to Rijksmuseum, with an approximate value of about $198 million. The oil-on-canvas painting by Rembrandt is a three-quarter-length self-portrait painted on an area of 118.8 x 96.8 cm. The art depicts his body angled to his left while his face looks straight ahead. Rembrandt has one arm on his waist and the other bearing a flag, where the art’s title comes from. Rembrandt is considered one of the pioneers of Dutch baroque painting, and this piece is one of his first works.
The Shot Marilyns
What’s interesting about this work of art is that Andy Warhol painted a series of five Marylin Monroe headshot portraits with silkscreen on canvas called The Marilyns. The square 101.6 x 101.6 cm tiles depicted Monroe’s face, which contrasts against various vibrant colored plain backgrounds. While it broke the record for being the costliest 20th-century painting, it wasn’t quite finished. A little stunt by performance artist, Dorothy Podber, caused the price and popularity of these paintings to spike, with its highest sale value at about $250 million today, with inflation.
Portraits of Maerten Soolmans and Oopjen Coppit
The portraits are a set of two oil paintings measuring 209 x 135 cm each. These were created by Rembrandt to celebrate the imminent marriage of Maerten Soolmans and Oopjen Coppit. The expensive pair of art pieces has always been displayed as a duo rather than individually. In 2015, the set was sold for $180 million by the Rothschild family to two museums – the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam and the Louvre Museum in Paris. They purchased them together for their first public display, paying 50-50, deciding to take turns exhibiting the expensive paintings without splitting the pair. Today, the portraits should be worth about $206 million.
Les Femmes d’ Alger (“Version O”)
Measuring 114 x 146 cm, the oil-on-canvas painting is the last abstract piece in a 15-picture series by Picasso. It consists of modern renditions of Eugene Delacroix’s The Women of Algiers in their Apartment. The couple Sally and Victor Ganz originally owned the artwork, and it was later acquired by the Saidenberg Gallery for $31.9 million. But in May 2015, at Christie’s New York, the painting was auctioned and sold for a whopping $179 million. Its current value is estimated at $205 million.
