Picasso and the other 9 most jaw-droppingly expensive paintings ever

9 years ago

Image courtesy: pablopicasso.org

Pablo Picasso’s opulent painting titled Women of Algiers (Version O) has just gone for $179.4m at Christies, New York, becoming the world’ most expensive artwork to be sold at auction. The Picasso work now joins the list of the world’s priciest paintings ever. The prices will certainly make your jaw drop.

1. When Will You Marry by Paul Gaugin $ 300m

The painting from Gaugin’s Tahiti series was bought in February this year from a private Swiss collection. It is believed the buyer is a Qatari.

2. The Card Players by Paul Cézanne $ 263.1m

This famous work by the French artist was acquired by the Qatari royal family in 2011 for a rumoured price of $250m. Adjusted for inflation, that’s worth $263.1m today.

3. Women of Algiers (Version O) by Pablo Picasso $ 179.4m

There was fierce bidding for this work, considered one of Picasso’s masterpieces, and it went to an anonymous buyer for a price much higher than the estimated $140m.

4. No. 5, 1948 by Jackson Pollock $ 164.4m

The painting was sold in a private auction by Sotheby’s and is the most expensive work of this American abstract expressionist.

5. Woman III by Willam de Kooning $161.5m

This painting, which was housed in the Teheran Museum of Contemporary Art, was bought for around $137.5m by hedge fund billionaire Steven A. Cohen privately in 2006.

6. Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I by Gustav Klimt $ 158.5m

Considered the most representative work of the artist’s golden phase, the painting was of a model. It was in the possession of her heirs before being sold to the Neue Gallery in New York for a record price.

7. Le Reve by Pablo Picasso $ 157.5m

This celebrated work by the master of cubism was also snapped up by billionaire Steven Cohen who owns the 5^th most expensive painting as well.

8. Portrait of Dr Gachet by Vincent Van Gogh $ 149.4m

A painting by the Dutch master, this is also a tribute to the doctor who cared for him in his final months. Originally sold by Van Gogh’s sister-in-law for a mere 300 Francs, it was sold in 2007 to an unknown buyer for a record price.

9. Three Studies of Lucian Freud by Francis Bacon $ 144.7m

A painting in the triptych style, this one is of Bacon’s friend, Lucian Freud. It is now in a private collection.

10. Bal du Moulin de la Galette by Pierre Auguste Renoir $ 141.5m

While the larger version of this celebrated work by the French painter hangs at the Musee d’Orsay in Paris, a smaller version is now part of a private Swiss collection, having been bought for over $140m.