Most Expensive Paintings in the World

The Card Players Artist: Paul Cézanne Year Created: 1894–1895 Sold For: $250 to $300 million Owner: Royal Family of Qatar The Card Players is a series of oil paintings by the French Post-Impressionist artist Paul Cézanne. The series, which includes five paintings, was created in the early 1890s. The entire collection is considered a prelude …

When Will You Marry Artist: Paul Gauguin Year Created: 1892 Sold For: $300 million Owner: Sheikha Al-Mayassa bint Hamad Al-Thani When Will You Marry? is an 1892 oil painting by French Post-Impressionist artist Paul Gauguin. It was his interpretation of Tahiti’s culture when he first visited the island in 1891. Gauguin was reportedly hoping to …

No. 6 (Violet, Green and Red) Artist: Mark Rothko Year Created: 1951 Sold For: $186 million Owner: Dmitry Rybolovlev No. 6 (Violet, Green and Red) was painted by Mark Rothko, who introduced Abstract Expressionism into the art world. Many of his works are characterized by bands of horizontal colors painted on massive canvasses. The seemingly …

Les Femmes d’Alger (Version O) Artist: Pablo Picasso Year Created: 1955 Sold For: $179.3 million Owner: Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani Pablo Picasso made a series of 15 paintings inspired by Eugène Delacroix’s 1834 painting Femmes d’Alger dans leur appartement (or “The Women of Algiers in their Apartment” in English). It depicted several …

Nu couché (Reclining Nude) Artist: Amedeo Modigliani Year Created: 1917 Sold For: $170.4 million Owner: Liu Yiqian “Nu couché,” (Italian for “Red Nude” or “Reclining Nude,” is an oil-on-canvas painting made by Amedeo Modigliani for Polish Léopold Zborowski. The masterpiece is a part of a series commissioned by Zborowski with the theme of female nudes. …

No. 5, 1948 Artist: Jackson Pollock Year Created: 1948 Sold For: $165.4 million Owner: Unknown No. 5, 1948 is a painting created by American abstract expressionist Jackson Pollock. Created on composition board (fiberboard), this 8×4-foot painting used gloss enamel paints, but classified as an oil painting. The No. 5, 1948 has been described as a …

Woman III Artist: Willem de Kooning Year Created: 1953 Sold For: $162.4 million Owner: Steven Cohen Woman III, as its title suggests, is the third of six paintings with a woman theme created by abstract expressionist Willem de Kooning from 1951 to 1953. It measures 68 x 48 1⁄2 inches and is reportedly the only …

La Rêve (The Dream) Artist: Pablo Picasso Year Created: 1932 Sold For: $155 million Owner: SAC Capital founder Steven Cohen La Rêve (French for “The Dream”) is one of Picasso’s most famous paintings made in 1932. The oil painting depicted 22-year-old Marie-Therese Walter, who was the mistress of then-50-year-old artist. The Dream is a sensual …

Portrait of Dr. Gachet Artist: Vincent van Gogh Year Created: 1890 Sold For: $82.5 million (inflation-adjusted price $152 million) Owner: Unknown One of the most sought-after paintings of Van Gogh, the Portrait of Dr. Gachet depicted the doctor who took care of him during the final months of his life. The Portrait of Dr. Gachet showed the …

“Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I” Artist: Gustav Klimt Year Created: 1907 Sold For: $142.8 Million Owner: Ronald Lauder (since June 2006) This next painting is sometimes known as “The Lady in Gold,” or “The Woman in Gold.” It is a portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I, a member of Viennese elite society member and friend of …

“Three Studies of Lucian Freud” Artist: Francis Bacon Year Created: 1969 Sold For: $142.4 million Owner: Elaine Wynn (since November 2013) Three Studies of Lucian Freud is an oil-on-canvas triptych created by Irish-born British painter Francis Bacon in 1969. It is one of the two full-length panel paintings Bacon made depicting his former creative rival-turned …

“The Scream” Artist: Edvard Munch Year Created: 1895 Sold For: $119.9 million Owner: Leon Black (since May 2012) Probably the most popular painting of the bunch, The Scream by Edvard Munch is actually only one of 4 versions created in various media between 1893 and 1910. They were originally titled Der Schrei der Natur (The Scream …