7 Most Expensive Artwork Sold Around The World

Artworks today are fetching incredible, mind-boggling prices going well over the $100 million USD amount, and while some didn’t quite reach the $100 million mark, they do now with inflation taken into consideration. From Rembrandt to Picasso, we takes a look at some of the most expensive artworks ever sold.

# Nafea Faa Ipoipo (When Will You Marry?) — Paul Gauguin

Known for his love of Tahiti and, of course, women, Paul Gauguin, who inspired many modern artists, painted Nafea Faa Ipoipo (When Will You Marry?) in 1892. Fast-forward over 120 years and this work depicting two women among a colorful landscape was sold in a private sale for about $300 million USD, making it the most expensive work ever sold. While the purchaser of this post-Impressionist work was not revealed, most in the art world believe the royal family of Qatar now owns it.

# The Card Players — Paul Cézanne

Paul Cézanne painted five versions of The Card Players throughout his career, with the majority of them in world-renowned museum collections, including the Musée D’Orsay and the Courtauld Institute of Art. In 2012, the world learned that one version was sold in 2011 at an astonishing price of over $250 million USD, which, at the time, was the most expensive painting ever sold. Purchased by the royal family of Qatar, this painting was acquired through a private sale.

# No. 6 (Violet, Green and Red) — Mark Rothko

The abstract work No 6. (Violet, Green and Red) by American painter Mark Rothko sold in a private sale for $186 million USD, setting a record high for the artist. Depicting Rothko’s classic boldly colored rectangular shapes, the painting was purchased by Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev through art dealer Yves Bouvier in 2014. However, No. 6 has since been part of a legal dispute as Rybolovlev believes Bouvier mislead him about the price of the work.

# Portrait of Marten Soolmans and Portrait of Oopjen Coppit — Rembrandt

A pair of paintings that most agree should always be displayed together, the Portrait of Marten Soolmans and Portrait of Oopjen Coppit, a couple, was painted by Rembrandt in 1634. Owned by the Rothschild family, these works were rarely seen in public; until the Rijksmuseum and the Louvre jointly purchased these two works for approximately $180 million USD. Paris and Amsterdam will each take turns displaying these beautiful, treasured artworks.

# Les Femmes D’Alger (Version ‘O’) — Pablo Picasso

Sold in May 2015 at a Christie’s auction, Pablo Picasso’s Les Femmes D’Alger (Version ‘O’) fetched a whopping $179.3 million USD, making it the most expensive artwork ever sold at auction. Inspired by Delacroix’s Les Femmes D’Alger, Picasso painted 15 different versions, with ‘O‘ being the last in 1955. Like so many works, it has not been confirmed who shelled out nearly $200 million for this work, but rumors have it that it was the former prime minister of Qatar, Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabar Al Thani.

# Nu couché — Amedeo Modigliani

Nu couché, or Reclining Nude, is the most recent addition to the list of the world’s most expensive artworks ever sold. Painted by Amedeo Modigliani in 1917-18, the work, which is one of Modigliani’s most recognized pieces and feature a nude woman lying on a mostly red background, sold on November 9, 2015 for $170.4 million USD, beating the estimate of $100 million. This auction also shattered the artist’s previous highest selling work — Nu assis sur un divan (La belle romaine) for $68.9 million.

# No. 5, 1948 — Jackson Pollock

A signature Jackson Pollock drip painting, No. 5, 1948, featuring organic lines and drops of red, yellow, blue and grey paint in varying shades, was sold through a private sale in 2006. David Geffen, a business and entertainment magnate, sold the work for a reported $140 million USD (today about $164 million). Many believed that the very private David Martinez, a Mexican financier, bought this Pollock painting; however, his representatives and experts in the art field have denied that Martinez is the owner.