This painting by American abstract artist Paul Jackson Pollock is the most expensive piece of art ever sold at auction. It was created by the artist in 1948, just at the time when his first exhibition took place, which was a phenomenal success. The painting is made in the "pouring technique" invented by Pollock himself, which is also called dripping or splashing.
The artist spread his canvases on the floor, and poured or spattered paint without touching the surface with a brush. Pollock was distinguished by his love for large canvases, and "No. 5, 1948" is no exception. It is 244 cm high and 122 cm wide.
2. “Woman III”, Willem de Kooning, $137.5 million(date of sale - 11.2006)
"Woman III", Willem de Kooning This work is part of a series of paintings by the abstract artist Willem de Kooning in a semi-realistic style dedicated to women. Created in 1953, the painting is currently the only job from this series, located in a private collection. Since the 1970s, the painting has been the property of the Tehran Museum of Modern Art, and in 1994 it was sold to private hands and taken out of the country. In 2006, owner David Geffen sold Woman III to American billionaire Stephen Cohen.
3. “Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I” Gustav Klimt $135.0 million(date of sale - 18.06.2006)
“Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I” Gustav Klimt This painting, also known as "Golden Adele" or "Austrian Mona Lisa" is one of the most famous works founder Austrian Art Nouveau Gustav Klimt. Written in 1907, it belongs to the "golden period" in the work of Klimt, who at that time combined oil painting with the technique of relief and gilding. The portrait depicts Adele Bloch-Bauer, daughter CEO Moritz Bauer of the Vienna Banking Association and the wife of the manufacturer Ferdinand Bloch. In June 2006, "Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I" was sold at Sotheby's for $135 million. Ronald Lauder, co-owner of the famous cosmetic empire Estee Lauder, became the new owner of the painting.
4. “Nude, green leaves and bust” Pablo Picasso $106.5
million(date of sale - 05.05.2010)
“Nude, green leaves and bust" by Pablo Picasso The portrait of the artist's beloved Marie-Therese Walter is generally recognized as one of the most significant works of P. Picasso. At the Christie's auction in New York, about a dozen collectors competed for the painting. The name of the buyer who made the bids by phone is not known.
5. “Boy with a pipe” by Pablo Picasso $104.1 million(date of sale - 04.05.2004)
"Boy with a pipe" Pablo Picasso The painting belongs to the so-called "pink" period in the artist's work. The record price for which it was sold at Sotheby's in May 2004 was a real surprise for art lovers - after all, the canvas was painted in a manner that is not similar to the creative handwriting of the pioneer of cubism.
6. “Dora Maar with a cat” by Pablo Picasso $95.2 million(date of sale - 03.05.2006)
Dora Maar with a cat by Pablo Picasso Dora Maar, a talented artist and photographer, was Pablo Picasso's lover for 9 years. Although she never posed for him, many portraits and sketches of her have survived. It was her Picasso depicted as a woman with a lamp in her famous painting"Guernica" (1937), and in the form of "Weeping Woman" (1937). The artist himself spoke of this as follows: “For years I painted her broken face not out of sadism and not for pleasure, I saw it that way, and it was stronger than me.” In 2006, "Portrait of Dora Maar with a cat" was sold at Sotheby's for $95.216 million. Its starting price was 50 million US dollars.
7. “Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer II” Gustav Klimt $87.936 million(date of sale - 08.11.2006)
“Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer II” Gustav Klimt By decision of the arbitration court, the second portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer, as well as "Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I", in 2005 was withdrawn from the Austrian Belvedere Gallery, where it ended up in 1941 after expropriation by the Nazis, and transferred to the heiress of the Bloch-Bauer family , Maria Altman. In addition, three more works by Klimt were returned to the Bloch-Bauer heiress: Birch Grove”, “Apple tree I” and “Houses in Unterach near Attersee”. Maria Altman offered the Austrian government to buy her paintings, which for 60 years were the national treasure of Austria, for 150 million US dollars, and collections of the required amount began in the country. Bank loans were negotiated, donations were collected from the population. However, after the price of the paintings rose to 300 million US dollars, the government refused to negotiate. In 2006, "Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer II" was sold at auction for 87.936 million US dollars.
8. “Triptych, 1976” Francis Bacon $86,281 million(date of sale - May, 2008)
"Triptych, 1976" Francis Bacon This work of the infamous British expressionist Francis Bacon, a descendant and full namesake of the great philosopher, became the most expensive painting sold in 2008. By the time this triptych was written, Bacon was already widely known, his paintings were exhibited in major museums around the world. However, he still led a marginal life and lived in a small two-room apartment in the London Chelsea area.
"Triptych, 1976" is considered by experts to be the most significant work of F. Bacon, which is in private hands. In May 2008, it was sold at Sotheby's for $86.281 million.
9. “Portrait of Dr. Gachet” Vincent van Gogh $82.5 million(date of sale - 15.05.1990)
"Portrait of Doctor Gachet" Vincent van Gogh This painting by Dutch impressionist Vincent van Gogh suddenly became world famous after Japanese businessman Ryoei Saito paid $82.5 million for it at Christie's in New York. The man was so attached to this painting, that after his death he wanted to be cremated along with the canvas. The businessman died in 1996, but the painting remained. The new owner of the painting remains unknown. Perhaps he fears that the same story will happen to his property as to the paintings of Klimt. "Portrait of Dr. Gachet" may well become the subject of a restitution lawsuit, since in 1937 it was confiscated by the Nazis from the Frankfurt Stadel art institute, and then resold to a private collection, from where he came to Saito. Vincent van Gogh painted two versions of Dr. Gachet's portrait. Second, slightly different color scheme exhibited at the Musée d'Orsay in Paris. The painting was completed a few weeks before the artist's suicide in 1890.
10. Water Lily Pond by Claude Monet $80,451 million(date of sale - June, 2008)
"Pond with water lilies" Claude Monet The painting was painted by the master of impressionism, French artist Claude Monet in 1919, shortly before he developed cataracts. However, there is an opinion that the special style of Monet's work is, in principle, due to the fact that the artist had poor eyesight.
Some experts in the field of painting were surprised that this particular work of Monet was bought for a record price: after all, by the time the “Pond with Water Lilies” was created, the artist’s paintings began to become more and more monotonous, and the fashion for impressionism had long since passed, giving way to cubism.
In 2008, this work was sold at Christie's auction. The buyer who paid $80.5 million for it remains unknown.
11. "False Start" by Jasper Johns $80.0 million(date of sale - 12.10.2006)
"False Start" Jasper Johns This painting was created by the American painter and sculptor Jasper Johns, who works at the intersection of Neo-Dadaism, Abstract Expressionism and Pop Art in 1959. It is currently the most expensive work by a living artist. In 2006, renowned art collector Kenneth Griffin paid $80 million for it.
12. Ball at the Moulin de la Galette by Pierre Auguste Renoir $78.1 million(date of sale - 05/17/1990)
"Ball at the Moulin de la Galette" Pierre Auguste Renoir "Ball at the Cabaret de la Galette" by French artist Pierre-Auguste Renoir painted in 1876. In May 1990, the painting was sold for $78 million at Sotheby's in New York by Rui Saito, who bought the painting along with Van Gogh's Portrait of Dr. Gachet.
13. Massacre of the Innocents by Peter Paul Rubens $76.761 million(date of sale - 10.07.2002)
"Massacre of the Innocents" Peter Paul Rubens The painting by Rubens is the only one on this list that was not painted in the 19th century. It was bought at Sotheby's by Baron Kenneth Thomson in 2002.
14. White Center by Mark Rothko $72.84 million(date of sale - 2007)
"White Center" Mark Rothko The picture was painted by Russian artist Mark Rothko, who developed his own art program and became one of America's most intelligent artists.
15. Green Car Crash by Andy Warhol $71.72 million(date of sale - 2007)
"Green Car Crash" by Andy Warhol In 1962, Warhol created a sensational series of paintings that depicted, often in flashy colors, cans of Coca-Cola and canned food, including - famous images jars of Campbell's tomato soup that became Andy Warhol's trademark. Radical art critics immediately drew attention to them, saying that the works of the young artist skillfully reveal the vulgarity, emptiness and facelessness of Western mass consumption culture. Subsequently, Warhol began to create more outrageous works, such as images of idols made in an “acid” manner. modern society Cast: Marilyn Monroe, Mick Jagger, Mao Zedong. It was rumored that as a "finishing touch" Warhol asked his lovers to urinate on a similar piece. The scandalous reputation of Warhol contributed to the increase in prices for works from this series.
16. “Portrait of an Artist Without a Beard” by Vincent van Gogh $71.5 million(date of sale - 1998)
"Portrait of an Artist Without a Beard" Vincent van Gogh “Portrait of an Artist without a Beard” is one of the many self-portraits of Vincent van Gogh. However, this is the only image of the artist without a beard. The painting, which sold in 1998 for $71.5 million, was the most expensive at the time.
17. Police Gazette (1955) Willem de Kooning $63.5 million(date of sale - 12.10.2006)
"Police Gazette" (1955) Willem de Kooning 18. “Still life with jug and drapery” Paul Cezanne $60.205 million(date of sale - May 1999)
"Still life with jug and drapery" Paul Cezanne This painting by Paul Cezanne, painted in 1893-1894, was sold in May 1999 at Sotheby's in New York to a representative of the Whitneys family - a well-known philanthropist and producer.
19. “Suprematist composition” Kazimir Malevich $60.0 million(date of sale - 2008)
“Suprematist composition” Kazimir Malevich The painting was painted by the artist in 1916. In 1919-20 she exhibited in Moscow. In 1927, Malevich exhibited the painting at exhibitions in Warsaw, and later in Berlin, where the painting remained after Casimir left for the USSR in June 1927. Later painting was given to the German architect Hugo Hering, who sold it to the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, where it was kept for about 50 years.
Throughout the 20th century, the painting was repeatedly exhibited at various exhibitions, mainly European ones. After 17 years of litigation, the painting was returned to the artist's heirs.
On November 3, 2008, at Sotheby's in New York, the painting was sold to an unknown buyer for 60,002,500, becoming one of the most expensive paintings ever painted by a Russian artist.
20. “Wheat field with cypresses” Vincent van Gogh $57.0 million(date of sale - 1993)
"Wheat field with cypresses" Vincent van Gogh The painting was painted a year before the artist's death in May 1899. At that time, Van Gogh was in an asylum for the mentally ill near San Remy, where he was trying to recover from a mental illness. Van Gogh himself described the wheat field as "very yellow". Indeed, Van Gogh tries to paint with thin strokes, using mostly yellow and blue colors. They say that the picture is fascinating, the longer you look at it, the more concentrated look, the more new implicit details you can discover.
Paintings by Russian artists of the past centuries, both landscape and portrait painters, are very often put up for auction and interest in them is constantly growing. These paintings are very different from the works of inadequate contemporary artists, whose work you can see in this article. The struggle for the work of real masters is serious, they are bought for millions! In our ranking of the most expensive famous paintings Russian artists included just those works that were sold at auctions.
$10.84 million Nikolay Feshin. Little cowboy
Famous Great master Portrait Nikolai Feshin graduated from the Academy of Arts in the workshop of Ilya Repin, but lived almost all his life in America. The canvases of the Russian artist are in 30 museums around the world. In our country, you can get acquainted with the works of the master at the Museum of the Academy of Arts.
This painting called "Little Cowboy" was acquired in 2010 Russian collector for $10.84 million at MacDougall's. It is noteworthy that the starting price of the portrait was 700 thousand pounds.
But in general, good work with portraits of children have always been very popular.
$10.88 million. Natalia Goncharova. Flowers
Natalia Goncharova is called the "Amazon of the avant-garde", an innovator of painting. She was an excellent decorator and graphic artist.
Her work "Flowers" was sold at Christie's in 2008 for $10.88 million. The painting was painted by the artist during a special period of her work. The work of painting harmoniously combines rayonism, futurism, elements of Russian folk art and iconography.
The canvas was exhibited at the Paris exhibition at the Paul Guillaume Gallery in 1914.
$12.09 million Nicholas Roerich. Madonna Laboris (Works of Our Lady)
Nicholas Roerich's painting "The Works of the Mother of God" was sold at Bonhams in 2013 for $12 million. This is one of the canvases of the triptych, which includes two more works: “Our Lady of Oriflamma” and “Our Lady of the Defender”.
There are mini-copies of paintings in the museums of Riga and New York. This masterpiece of painting came to auction directly from the collection of the Order of the Rosicrucians.
$14.51 million Valentin Serov. Portrait of Maria Tsetlina
"Portrait of Maria Tsetlina" was painted by Valentin Serov in 1910. This is his most expensive work to date. The painting depicts Maria Samoilovna Tsetlina - well-known philanthropist, publisher, public and political figure.
In 2014, at Christie's auction, the painting went under the hammer for $14.51 million. It is not known who bought it, the painting was bought over the phone.
It is noteworthy that for a long time this work was considered lost for a long time, only in 1996 it became known about the whereabouts of the portrait. 
$14.85 million Marc Chagall. Anniversary
Another fabulously expensive painting, Anniversary by Marc Chagall, was sold in 1990 for $14.9 million. It was written in 1923, in the so-called golden period of the artist. The canvas depicts his flight with his wife Bella.
Chagall's works are always highly valued and in demand. The artist's works can also be viewed in the Tretyakov Gallery. 
$18.59 million Alexei Yavlensky. Chokko in a wide-brimmed hat
The work of Alexei Yavlensky "Shokko in a wide-brimmed hat" was sold at auction for $ 18.59 million. Wassily Kandinsky's colleague is especially popular in the West - there he is known under the name Alexej von Jawlensky. Big collection paintings of the artist is located in Omsk art gallery, which were transferred there by the artist's brother Dmitry. 
$23.04 million Wassily Kandinsky. Sketch for "Improvisation No. 8"
“Sketch for Improvisation No. 8” was written in 1909, and then for almost 50 years was the property of the Volkart Brothers Charitable Foundation in Switzerland.
In the fall of 2012, the painting was sold at Christie's in New York for $23 million. The canvas depicts scenes from the history of Kievan Rus. 
$28.16 million. Chaim Soutine. bull carcass
The famous Russian painter, a representative of the Paris School - Chaim Soutine - painted from 1923 to 1925 a cycle of 9 canvases depicting bull carcasses. Private collectors currently own only three of the 9 ink paintings, and the largest and brightest was sold for record amount at $28.16 million
At first, the artist was fond of painting still lifes, and then he began to hang the carcass of an animal on the wall and continued to create his masterpieces, not noticing that the meat deteriorates over time. There have been numerous cases when, due to the unpleasant aroma emanating from spoiled meat, the neighbors called the police, and then conflicts occurred between the master and the law enforcement officers. After incidents with police officers, Soutine began soaking carcasses in formaldehyde. 
$60.00 million Kazimir Malevich. Suprematist composition
Malevich's painting "Suprematist composition" is practically the champion among Russian paintings. The fate of this work is not easy. At first, the painting visited exhibitions in Europe, then it was kept by the architect Hugo Goering and the Amsterdam Museum.
Only 17 years later, after numerous trials, the canvas was returned to the descendants of Malevich. However, it was soon sold for a fabulous sum of $60 million. 
$86.88 million Mark Rothko. Orange, red, yellow
The most expensive painting is “Orange, Red, Yellow” by the enigmatic contemporary artist Mark Rothko. His paintings are in many famous museums of modern art.
In 2012, this 1961 work was sold at Christie's for $86.88 million. This picture is the most expensive work of an artist of Russian origin, which went under the hammer at an open auction in the post-war period. 
In early December 2011, new price records were set at Russian auctions in London. Summing up the results of the year, we have compiled a list of the most expensive works by Russian artists based on the results of auction sales.
33 most expensive k. Source: 33 most expensive k.
According to the ratings, the most expensive Russian artist is Mark Rothko. His White Center (1950), sold for $72.8 million, in addition, ranks 12th in the list of the most expensive paintings in the world in general. However, Rothko was Jewish, born in Latvia, and left Russia at the age of 10. Is it fairwith a similar stretch chase for the records? Therefore, Rothko, as well as other emigrants who left Russia before becoming artists (for example, Tamara de Lempicki and Chaim Soutine), we deleted from the list.
No. 1. Kazimir Malevich - $60 million
The author of "Black Square" is too important a person for his works to be often found on the free market. So this picture came up for auction in a very difficult way. In 1927, Malevich, about to arrange an exhibition, brought almost a hundred works from his Leningrad workshop to Berlin. However, he was urgently recalled to his homeland, and he left them for storage to the architect Hugo Hering. He saved the pictures in difficult years fascist dictatorship, when they could well have been destroyed as "degenerate art", and in 1958, after the death of Malevich, he sold them to the Stedelek State Museum (Holland).
AT early XXI century, a group of Malevich's heirs, almost forty people, began trial- because Hering was not the legal owner of the paintings. As a result, the museum gave them this painting, and will give away four more, which will surely cause a sensation at some auction. After all, Malevich is one of the most forged artists in the world, and the origin of the paintings from the Stedelek Museum is impeccable. And in January 2012, the heirs received another painting from that Berlin exhibition, taking it away from the Swiss museum.
#2 Wassily Kandinsky - $22.9 million
The auction price of a piece is affected by its reputation. It's not only big name artist, but also "provenance" (origin). A thing from a famous private collection or a good museum is always more expensive than a work from an anonymous collection. The Fugue comes from the famous Guggenheim Museum: once director Thomas Krenz removed this Kandinsky, a painting by Chagall and Modigliani from the museum collections, and put them up for sale. For some reason, with the money received, the museum acquired a collection of 200 works by American conceptualists. Krenz was condemned for a very long time for this decision.
This canvas of the father of abstractionism is curious because it set a record back in 1990, when the auction halls of London and New York had not yet been filled with reckless Russian buyers. Thanks to this, by the way, it did not disappear into some very private collection in a luxurious mansion, but is on permanent display in the private Beyeler Museum in Switzerland, where anyone can see it. A rare occasion for such a purchase!
No. 3. Alexei Yavlensky - 9.43 million pounds
Approximately $18.5 million was paid by an unknown buyer for a portrait depicting a girl from a village near Munich. Shokko is not a name, but a nickname. The model, coming to the artist's studio, each time asked for a cup of hot chocolate. So “Shokko” took root behind her.
The sold picture is included in his famous cycle "Race", depicting the domestic peasantry of the first quarter of the 20th century. And, right, portraying with such mugs that it's scary to look at. Here, in the form of a shepherd, the peasant poet Nikolai Klyuev, the forerunner of Yesenin, is revealed. Among his poems there are the following: "In the fire, the scarlet flower has become deaf and faded - The light-brat is daring Far from the sweetheart."
No. 19. Konstantin Makovsky - 2.03 million pounds
Makovsky - a salon painter, known for a huge number of hawthorn heads in kokoshniks and sundresses, as well as a painting "Children running from a thunderstorm", which at one time was constantly printed on gift boxes chocolates. Its sweet historical paintings are in stable demand among Russian buyers.
The subject of this painting- Old Russian "kissing rite" Noble women in Ancient Russia were not allowed to leave female half, and only for the sake of honored guests could they go out, offer a glass and (the most pleasant part) allow themselves to be kissed. Pay attention to the picture hanging on the wall: this is the image of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, one of the first equestrian portraits that appeared in Russia. Its composition, although it was brazenly copied from the European model, was considered unusually innovative and even shocking for that time.
No. 20. Svyatoslav Roerich - $2.99 million
The son of Nicholas Roerich left Russia as a teenager. Lived in England, USA, India. Like his father, he was interested in Eastern philosophy. Like his father, he painted many paintings on Indian themes. In general, his father occupied a huge place in his life - he painted more than thirty of his portraits. This picture was created in India, where the clan settled in the middle of the century. Paintings by Svyatoslav Roerich rarely appear at auctions, and in Moscow the works of the famous dynasty can be seen in the halls of the Museum of the East, to which the authors presented them, as well as in the museum museum "International Center of the Roerichs", which is located in a luxurious noble estate right behind the Pushkin Museum. Both museums do not like each other very much: the Oriental Museum claims both the building and the collections of the Roerich Center.
No. 21 Ivan Shishkin - £1.87m
The main Russian landscape painter spent three consecutive summers on Valaam and left many images of this area. This work is a little gloomy and does not look like a classic Shishkin. But this is explained by the fact that the picture refers to his early period when he did not find his style and was strongly influenced by the Düsseldorf school of landscape, in which he studied.
We have already mentioned this Düsseldorf school above, in the recipe for a fake "Aivazovsky". " Shishkins" are made according to the same scheme, for example, in 2004 at Sotheby's exhibited "Landscape with a Stream" of the painter's Düsseldorf period. It was estimated at $ 1 million and was confirmed by the examination of the Tretyakov Gallery. An hour before the sale, the lot was removed - it turned out to be a painting by another student of this school, the Dutchman Marinus Adrian Kukkuk, bought in Sweden for 65 thousand dollars.
No. 22. Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin - 1.83 million pounds
A portrait of a boy with an icon of the Virgin was found in a private collection in Chicago. After it was handed over to the auction house, experts began research in an attempt to determine its origin. It turned out that the painting was at exhibitions in 1922 and 1932. In the 1930s, the artist's works traveled around the States as part of an exhibition of Russian art. Perhaps it was then that the owners acquired this painting.
Note the empty space on the wall behind the boy. At first, the author thought to write a window with a green landscape there. This would have balanced the picture both in terms of composition and colors - the grass would have something in common with the green tunic of the Mother of God (by the way, according to the canon, it should be blue). Why Petrov-Vodkin painted over the window is unknown.
No. 23. Nicholas Roerich - 1.76 million pounds
Before visiting Shambhala and beginning to correspond with the Dalai Lama, Nicholas Konstantinovich Roerich specialized quite successfully in the Old Russian theme and even made ballet sketches for the Russian Seasons. The sold lot belongs to this period. The depicted scene is a wonderful phenomenon above the water, which is observed by a Russian monk, most likely Sergius of Radonezh. It is curious that the picture was painted in the same year as another vision of Sergius (then the youth Bartholomew), appearing in our list above. The stylistic difference is enormous.
Roerich painted many paintings and the lion's share of them - in India. He donated several pieces to the Indian Institute of Agricultural Research. Recently two of them, "Himalaya, Kanchenjunga" and "Sunset, Kashmir appeared at an auction in London. It was only then that the Institute's junior researchers noticed that they had been robbed. In January 2011, Indians applied to a London court for permission to investigate the crime in England. The interest of thieves in Roerich's heritage is understandable, because there is a demand.
No. 24. Lyubov Popova- 1.7 million pounds
Lyubov Popova died young, so she failed to become famous like another Amazonian avant-garde Natalya Goncharova. Yes, and her legacy is smaller - therefore, it is difficult to find her work for sale. After her death, a detailed inventory of the paintings was compiled. This still life was known for many years only from a black and white reproduction, until it surfaced in a private collection, turning out to be the most significant work of the artist in private hands. Pay attention to the Zhostovo tray - maybe this is a hint of Popova's taste for folk crafts. She came from a family of an Ivanovo merchant who was engaged in fabrics, and she herself created many sketches of propaganda textiles based on Russian traditions.
No. 25. Aristarkh Lentulov - 1.7 million pounds
Lentulov entered the history of the Russian avant-garde with a memorable image of St. Basil's Cathedral - either cubism, or a patchwork quilt. In this landscape, he tries to break up space in a similar way, but it doesn't come out as exciting. Actually, therefore Basil the Blessed» in the Tretyakov Gallery, and this picture- in the art market. Still, once museum workers had the opportunity to skim the cream.
No. 26. Alexei Bogolyubov - 1.58 million pounds
The sale of this little-known artist, albeit a favorite landscape painter of Tsar Alexander III, for such crazy money is a symptom of the frenzy of the market on the eve of the 2008 crisis. Then Russian collectors were ready to buy even minor masters. Moreover, first-class artists rarely sell.
Perhaps this picture was sent as a gift to some official: it has a suitable plot, because the Cathedral of Christ the Savior has long ceased to be just a church, and has become a symbol. And a flattering origin - the picture was kept in royal palace. Pay attention to the details: the brick Kremlin tower is covered with white plaster, and the hill inside the Kremlin is completely unfurnished. Well, why bother trying? In the 1870s, Petersburg was the capital, not Moscow, and the Kremlin was not the residence.
No. 27. Isaac Levitan - 1.56 million pounds
Completely atypical for Levitan, the work was sold at the same auction as Bogolyubov's painting, but it turned out to be cheaper. This is due, of course, to the fact that the picture does not look like "Levitan ". Its authorship, however, is indisputable, a similar plot is in the Dnepropetrovsk Museum. 40,000 light bulbs, with which the Kremlin was decorated, were lit in honor of the coronation of Nicholas II. In a few days, the Khodynka disaster will happen.
No. 28. Arkhip Kuindzhi - $3 million
The famous landscape painter painted three similar paintings. The first is in the Tretyakov Gallery, the third is in the State Museum of Belarus. The second, presented at the auction, was intended for Prince Pavel Pavlovich Demidov-San Donato. This representative of the famous Ural dynasty lived in a villa near Florence. In general, the Demidovs, having become Italian princes, had fun as best they could. For example, Pavel's uncle, from whom he inherited princely title, was so rich and noble that he married the niece of Napoleon Bonaparte, and once in bad mood carved her. The poor lady struggled to get a divorce. The picture, however, did not get to Demidov, it was acquired by the Ukrainian sugar factory Tereshchenko.
No. 29. Konstantin Korovin- 1.497 million pounds
Impressionists a very “light”, sweeping style of writing is inherent. Korovin is the main Russian impressionist. It is very popular among scammers; according to rumors, the number of fakes at auctions reaches 80%. If a painting from a private collection was exhibited on personal exhibition artist in famous state museum, then its reputation is strengthened, and at the next auction it costs much more. In 2012, the Tretyakov Gallery is planning a large-scale exhibition of Korovin. Maybe there will be works from private collections. This paragraph is an example of the manipulation of the reader's mind by the example of listing facts that do not have a direct logical connection with each other.
- Please note that from March 26 to August 12, 2012 the Tretyakov Gallery promises to arrangeKorovin's exhibition . Read more about the biography of the most charming of the Silver Age artists. in our review vernissages of the State Tretyakov Gallery in 2012.
No. 30. Yuri Annenkov - $2.26 million
Annenkov managed to emigrate in 1924 and made a good career in the West. For example, in 1954 he was nominated for an Oscar as a costume designer for the film "Madame de..." The most famous of his early Soviet portraits- the faces are cubist, faceted, but completely recognizable. For example, he repeatedly drew Leon Trotsky in this way - and even repeated the drawing many years later from memory, when the Times magazine wanted to decorate the cover with him.
The character depicted in the record portrait is the writer Tikhonov-Serebrov. He entered the history of Russian literature mainly through his close friendship with. So close that, according to dirty rumors, the artist's wife Varvara Shaikevich even gave birth to a daughter from the great proletarian writer. It is not very noticeable on the reproduction, but the portrait is made in the collage technique: on top of the layer oil paint glass and plaster go here, and even a real doorbell is attached.
#31 Lev Lagorio - £1.47m
Another minor landscape painter, for some reason sold for a record price. One of the indicators of the success of the auction is the excess of the estimate (“assessment”) - the minimum price that the experts auction house set for the lot. The estimate of this landscape was 300-400 thousand pounds, and it was sold 4 times more expensive. As one London auctioneer said: "Happiness is when two Russian oligarchs compete for the same subject.
No. 32. Viktor Vasnetsov - 1.1 million pounds
Bogatyrs became a calling card back in the 1870s. He returns to his star theme, like other veterans of Russian painting, during the years of the young Soviet republic - both for financial reasons and to feel in demand again. This picture is the author's repetition "Ilya Muromets" (1915), which is kept in the House-Museum of the Artist (on Prospekt Mira).
No. 33. Eric Bulatov - 1.084 million pounds
The second living artist on our list (he also said that the best way for an artist to raise the price of his work is to die). By the way, this is the Soviet Warhol, underground and anti-communist. He worked in the genre of Sots Art, which was created by the Soviet underground, as our version of Pop Art. "Glory to the CPSU" is one of the artist's most famous works. According to his own explanations, the letters here symbolize the lattice that blocks the sky from us, that is, freedom.
Bonus: Zinaida Serebryakova - £1.07m
Serebryakova loved to paint nude women, self-portraits and her four children. This ideal feminist world is harmonious and calm, which cannot be said about the life of the artist herself, who with difficulty escaped from Russia after the revolution and spent a lot of energy to get her children out of there.
"Nude" is not an oil painting, but a pastel drawing. This is the most expensive Russian drawing. Such a high amount paid for graphics is comparable to the prices for Impressionist drawings and caused great surprise at Sotheby's, who started trading with £150,000 and received a million.
The list is based on the prices indicated on the official websites of the auction houses. This price is the sum of the net worth (voiced when the hammer comes down), and« Buyer's premium" (additional percentage of the auction house). Other sources may indicate "pure» price. The dollar to pound exchange rate often fluctuates, so British and American lots are located relative to each other with approximate accuracy (we are not Forbes).
Additions and corrections to our list are welcome.
Most expensive paintings in the world, as a rule, are kept in galleries and museums in Europe and the USA. These paintings are so valuable that art lovers are willing to spend millions of dollars to buy them. Most often, the value of a painting depends on its age and the artist who painted it. Some paintings look pretty mundane at first glance but are worth millions simply because they were painted so globally. famous artists like Vincent Van Gogh or Pablo Picasso. Below is a list of the twenty-five most ridiculously expensive art and paintings in history:
25. Acrobat and Young Harlequin (Acrobat and Young Harlequin)
This painting by Pablo Picasso was originally valued at $38.5 million and sold for $69.4 million. This painting, painted in 1905, was first featured in Action: Cahsiers Individualistes De Philosophie at Princeton University in 1923 and was sold by Roger Janssen's heir to a certain Miitsukoshi in 1988. At the moment, the picture is in America and is in the public domain.
24. Agile Rabbit (Au Lapin Agile)
The Agile Rabbit was painted in 1904 by Pablo Picasso and sold in 1989 by Joan Whitney Payson's daughter Walter H Annenberg for $70 million. The auction took place on November 27, 1989 at Sotheby's, New York.
23. Diana and Actaeon
This painting by Titian, an Italian Renaissance painter, was painted between 1556 and 1559. It is considered one of his greatest masterpieces. The painting depicts the moment when the goddess Diana met Actaeon. In 2009, the Duke of Sutherland donated this painting to National galleries Scotland and London (National Galleries of Scotland & National Gallery in London). The painting is valued at $70.6 million.
22. Green Car Crash (Green Burning Car I)
This painting, painted by Andy Warhol in 1963, was sold on May 16, 2007 to Philip Niarchos. Green Car Crash, better known as Burning Green Car I, was originally valued at $71.7 million but sold for $73.7 million. The auction took place at Christie's, New York.
21. Vase with Fifteen Sunflowers
The painting "Vase with Fifteen Sunflowers" depicts a bouquet of sunflowers placed in a vase. This painting by the Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh was painted in 1888 and is the second painting on the theme of sunflowers painted by this artist. It was sold by Chester Beatty's sister-in-law Yasuo Goto in 1987 for $74.5 million, almost double the original price of $39 million.
20. White Center (Yellow, Pink and Lavender on Rose)
This painting, by Mark Rothko and originally valued at $72.8 million, was sold by David Rockefeller in 2007 royal family Qatar, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani for $74.9 million. This abstract painting was completed in 1950 and is considered part of the artist's legendary and varied style of painting.
19. Curtain, Jug and Fruitbowl
This painting, painted by Paul Cezanne in 1894, was auctioned May 10, 1999 at Sotheby's, New York. Although most people know it as Curtain, Jar and Bowl of Fruit, the painting's original title is Rideau, Cruchon et Compotier. The painting was sold by the Whitney family to an unknown buyer for an adjusted price of $77.4 million.
18. Water Lily Pond
The painting “Pond with water lilies” (Le Bassin aux Nympheas) was painted in 1919 by the French Impressionist painter Claude Monet, but it was put up for auction only on June 4, 2008. This oil-on-canvas painting was sold at Sotheby's in New York to J. Irrwin and Xenia S. Miller for $79.7 million.
17. Self Portrait of Picasso
Picasso's Self Portrait (Yo, Picasso) was sold for $47.9 million on May 9, 1989 by Wendell Cherry to Stavros Niachros at Sotheby's in New York. This painting was painted in 1901 and depicts the artist himself. It was considered the second most popular painting on the day it went up for auction. It currently has an adjusted value of $90.5 million.
16. Wheatfield with Cypresses
This painting, part of a series of paintings called "Wheat Field", was painted by Van Gogh in 1889 in the psychiatric hospital of Saint Paul de Mausole in Arles, France (where Van Gogh was temporarily in as a patient). In 1993, the painting was sold by Emil Georg Bührle's son Walter Annenberg for $84.1 million.
15. False Start
"False Start" is a painting by Jasper Johns that was put up for private auction by Richard Gray on October 12, 2006. It was written in 1959 and sold by David Geffen to Kenneth Griffin for $84.6 million, which was $4.6 million more than the original price of $80 million.
14. Marriage of Pierrette
The painting Les Noces de Pierrette, best known as Pierrette's Marriage, was painted in 1905, during the blue period» artist. During this period, Picasso experienced poverty and depression after the suicide of his friend Carlos Casagemas in 1901. In 1907, it was purchased by an art dealer named Joseph Stansky (Josef Stansky), but between 1945 and 1962 it was owned by Picasso's son named Paulo Picasso (Paulo Picasso). She was sold by Fredrik Roos to Tomonori Tsurumaki for $84.8 million in 1989.
13. "Triptych, 1976" (Triptych, 1976)
The painting entitled "Triptych", written by Francis Bacon (Francis Bacon) in 1976, was painted in oil and pastel on canvas and divided into three parts, each of which was 198 by 147 centimeters. It was sold at Sotheby's in London on May 14, 2008, where the Moueix Family sold this work of art to Roman Abramovich for $85.5 million.
12. "Portrait of Adele Block Bauer II" (Portrait of Adele Block Bauer II)
This was the second portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer painted by Gustav Klimt in 1912. Adele Bloch-Bauer was the wife of Ferdinand Block Bauer and his model. This painting was put up for auction at Christie's auction house and sold for nearly $88 million.
11. "Portrait of Vincent Van Gogh" (Portrait of Vincent Van Gogh)
Of the dozen self-portraits painted by Vincent van Gogh, this one is the only one that has survived to this day. In this self-portrait, painted in 1886, the artist's face is shown exactly as Van Gogh saw it when looking into the mirror (which he used to paint his own face). The painting was sold for $93.5 million.
10. Dora Maar with Cat
The painting "Dora Maar au Chat", also known as "Dora Maar with a cat", was painted by Pablo Picasso in 1941. This painting depicts the artist's mistress named Dora Maar, who is sitting in a chair with a kitten on her shoulder. The size of this painting is only 128.27 by 95.25 centimeters, however, it was sold in 2006 for $95,216,000.
9 Massacre of the Innocents
The Massacre of the Innocents was painted by Peter Paul Rubens and depicts the Massacre of the Innocents in Bethlehem in the Book of Matthew of the Holy Bible. It was completed in 1611 and auctioned off by Sotheby's in London on July 10, 2002, where an Austrian family sold it to Kenneth Thomson for $99.7 million.
8. "Irises" (Irises)
This Vincent van Gogh painting was painted in 1889 and sold to Alan Bond for $101.2 million by Joan Whitney Payson's son at an auction held at Sotheby's in New York on November 11, 1987. Van Gogh painted this masterpiece while in a psychiatric hospital in France.
7. "Portrait of the postman Joseph Roulin" (Portrait of Joseph Roulin)
Another van Gogh painting, Portrait of the Postman Joseph Roulin, was completed in 1889 and sold to the Museum of Modern Art in New York for more than $111 million (more than double its original price). $58 million).
6. "Boy with a pipe" (Boy with a Pipe)
The painting "Garçon à la pipe" or "Boy with a pipe", painted by Pablo Picasso in 1905, was completed during " pink period» Picasso while he was in Paris. The painting depicts a Persian boy wearing a wreath of roses, holding a pipe in his hand. The painting was sold by the Greentree Foundation to the Whitney family in 2004 for $104 million. Its current value is estimated at $129 million.
5. "Ball at the Moulin de la Galette" (Dance at Le Moulin de la Galette)
The painting Bal Du Moulin de Galette, better known as The Ball at the Moulin de la Galette, was painted by the French artist Pierre Auguste Renoir in 1876. The cost of the painting is estimated at 141.5 million dollars. At the moment, this painting is stored in the Orsay Museum (Musee de Orsay), located in Paris. This famous impressionist painting by Betsey Whitney was sold by Ryoei Saito in 1990.
4. "Portrait of Dr. Gachet" (Portrait of Dr. Gachet)
In a painting called "Portrait of Dr. Gachet", painted Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh, the doctor is depicted during recent months Van Gogh's life. The masterpiece was completed in 1890 at Auvers and auctioned for $82.5 million. At the moment, the cost of the picture is 149.5 million dollars.
3. "Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I" (Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I)
This painting, painted by Gustav Klimt in 1907, was one of two portraits of Adele Bloch-Bauer. This painting, considered one of his greatest masterpieces, was sold to Ronald Lauder for $135 million at an auction held in New York in June 2006. For four months, this painting remained the most expensive in the world. It is currently valued at $155.8 million.
2. "Woman III" (Woman III)
Woman III was painted by the abstract expressionist Willem de Kooning and was one of six paintings he painted between 1951 and 1953. For two decades, the painting was part of the Tehram Museum of Contemporary Art collection, but in 2006 it was sold to Steven Cohen for $137.5 million. It is currently valued at $159.8 million.
1. "No. 5, 1948"
This painting was painted by Jackson Pollock in 1948 and purchased by David Martinez from David Geffen for $140 million at an auction held in New York on November 2, 2006. At the moment, the cost of this painting is estimated at 162.7 million dollars.
Request text:"I'm interested in creativity) any) even the most expensive, even the most unusual and all the very best)"
Contemporary art has grown significantly in price in recent years: today the most expensive paintings in the world are paintings by the classics. abstract painting, artists Jackson Pollock and Mark Rothko, acquired for $145 million and $140 million, respectively.
no. 5 Jackson Pollock $140.0 million (Sotheby's)
The painting of the famous American abstract artist Jackson Pollock sold for $140 million - this news was spread by The New York Times. The canvas "Number 5" became not only the most expensive painting in the world, but also the first work of post-war art to take this place. Jackson Pollock became famous as the inventor of "action painting" (action painting), which also corresponded to his bohemian lifestyle. A few years ago, in Hollywood, his biography was filmed, which in terms of drama is not much inferior to Van Gogh's biography. Jackson Pollock poured and splattered paint on the canvas, counting the spontaneous creative process more important than the result. "Number 5", a non-objective painting measuring 1.5 x 2.5 m, painted on fiberboard in 1948, is a classic example of this method. The canvas is evenly covered with brown and yellow drops, in which, like in Rorschach dough blots, everyone can see what they want.
Woman III Willem de Kooning $137.5 million
This work is part of a series of paintings by the abstract artist Willem de Kooning in a semi-realistic style. Created in 1953, the painting is currently the only work from this series in a private collection. Since the 1970s, the painting has been the property of the Tehran Museum of Modern Art, and in 1994 it was sold to private hands and taken out of the country. In 2006, owner David Geffen sold Woman III to American billionaire Stephen Cohen.
Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I Gustav Klimt $135.0
Also known as "Golden Adele" or "Austrian Mona Lisa". The painting is considered one of Klimt's most significant paintings. In 1903, during a trip to Italy, the artist was inspired by the richly decorated church mosaics in Ravenna and Venice, ancient language which he transferred to modern forms visual arts. He experimented with various painting techniques in order to give the surface of his work a new look. In addition to oil painting he used the technique of relief and gilding.
Modern artists are divided into two types, those who draw well and those who draw incomprehensibly. The most interesting thing is that the first category, as a rule, is rarely recognized during his lifetime, but the second, on the contrary, is already earning millions on his masterpieces, which are little understood by anyone. We offer you a selection of the most expensive works contemporary art.
"Spatial concept" Lucho Fountain — $1,500,000
"Untitled" Mark Rothko - $28,000,000
The Blue Fool Christopher Wool - $5,000,000
"White Fire I" Barnett Newman - $3,800,000
"Untitled" Cy Twombly - $2,300,000
Canvas "Untitled" or "Stofbild" Blink Palermo - $ 1,700,000
