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List of most expensive artworks by living artists

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The highest known price paid for an artwork by a living artist was for Jasper Johns's 1958 painting Flag. Its 2010 private sale price was estimated to be about US$110 million ($154 million in 2023 dollars).[1]

All-time

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This is a list of highest prices ever paid—at auction or private sale—for an artwork by an artist living at time of sale.

Adjusted price

(in millions of USD)

Original price

(in millions of USD)

Work Artist Date Venue Ref.
154 110 Flag Jasper Johns 2010 Private sale [1]
109 91.1 Rabbit Jeff Koons May 2019 Christie's [2][3]
110 90.3 Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures) David Hockney November 2018 Christie's [4]
121 80 False Start Jasper Johns October 2006 Private sale [5]
68 68.3 Standard Station, Ten-Cent Western Being Torn in Half Ed Ruscha November 2024 Christie's[6]
62 62 The Journey of Humanity Sacha Jafri March 2021 Humanity Inspired Royal Charity Auction, Dubai[note 1] [7][8]
76 58.4 Balloon Dog (Orange) Jeff Koons November 2013 Christie's [9]

Progressive auction sales records

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This is a list of progressive records of the highest price ever paid at auction for the work of an artist who was living at time of sale. As a progressive record listing, it only lists auctions records that topple the previous best. The current record price is US$91 million for Jeff Koons's 1986 sculpture, Rabbit, set in 2019. The current record price for a painting is $90 million for David Hockney's 1972 Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures), set the prior year.

Adjusted price

(in millions of USD)

Original price

(in millions of USD)

Work Artist Date Auction

house

Ref.
91.82 91.1 Rabbit Jeff Koons May 2019 Christie's [2][3]
92.48 90.3 Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures) David Hockney November 2018 Christie's [4]
64.68 58.4 Balloon Dog (Orange) Jeff Koons November 2013 Christie's [9]
41.11 37.1 Domplatz, Mailand Gerhard Richter May 2013 Sotheby's [10]
38.16 34.2 Abstraktes Bild (809-4) (1994) Gerhard Richter October 2012 Sotheby's [11]
40.03 33.6 Benefits Supervisor Sleeping Lucian Freud May 2008 Christie's [12]
28.98 23.6 Hanging Heart (Magenta/Gold) Jeff Koons November 2007 Sotheby's [13]
23.91 19.3 Lullaby Spring Damien Hirst June 2007 Sotheby's [14]
36.48 17 False Start Jasper Johns November 1988 Sotheby's [15]
15.02 7 White Flag Jasper Johns November 1988 Christie's [16]
9.18 4.18 Diver Jasper Johns May 1988 Christie's [17]
8.28 3.63 (tied) Pink Lady Willem de Kooning May 1987 Sotheby's [18]
8.49 3.63 (tied) Out the Window Jasper Johns November 1986 Sotheby's [19]
3.23 1.2 Two Women Willem de Kooning May 1982 Christie's [20]
2.19 0.8 L'Enigme du Desir/Ma Mere, Ma Mere, Ma Mere Salvador Dalí March 1982 Christie's [21]
4.13 0.53 Mother and Child Pablo Picasso April 1967 Sotheby's [22][23]
1.88 0.22 Death of Harlequin/Woman in a Garden Pablo Picasso 1962 Sotheby's [24][25]
1.34 0.15 (tied) La Belle Hollandaise Pablo Picasso May 1959 Sotheby's [26][27]
1.34 0.15 (tied) Mother and Child Pablo Picasso November 1958 Sotheby's [28]
0.066 Friedland, 1807 Ernest Meissonier March 1887 Stewart estate sale [29][30]
0.045 Les Communiantes Jules Breton May 1886 Mary J. Morgan estate sale [31][32]

Private sales

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c Vogel, Carol (March 18, 2010). "Planting a Johns 'Flag' in a Private Collection". The New York Times.
  2. ^ a b Reyburn, Scott (May 16, 2019). "Jeff Koons Rabbit Sets Auction Record for Most Expensive Work by Living Artist". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331.
  3. ^ a b "The 10 Moments That Defined Art in the 2010s". Artsy. December 16, 2019. Retrieved December 29, 2019.
  4. ^ a b Reyburn, Scott; Pogrebin, Robin (November 16, 2018). "David Hockney Painting Sells for $90 Million, Smashing Record for Living Artist". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on April 3, 2019. Retrieved May 16, 2019.
  5. ^ Vogel, Carol (October 12, 2006). "Works by Johns and de Kooning Sell for $143.5 Million". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331.
  6. ^ https://www.forbes.com/sites/natashagural/2024/11/19/synthesis-and-climax-of-1960s-ed-ruscha-masterpieces-sets-new-artist-record-selling-for-683-million-at-christies-new-york/
  7. ^ British artist sells world's largest painting The Journey of Humanity for $62m, The Guardian, March 22, 2021
  8. ^ Sophie Prideaux, World's largest painting created in Dubai by Sacha Jafri sells for record-breaking $62 million, The National, March 23, 2021
  9. ^ a b Vogel, Carol (October 19, 2018). "At $142.4 Million, Triptych Is the Most Expensive Artwork Ever Sold at an Auction". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on April 1, 2019. Retrieved May 16, 2019.
  10. ^ "Richter painting breaks record". BBC News. May 15, 2013. Archived from the original on April 25, 2019. Retrieved May 16, 2019.
  11. ^ Ng, David (October 15, 2012). "Gerhard Richter painting owned by Eric Clapton sets auction record". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Archived from the original on May 16, 2019. Retrieved May 16, 2019.
  12. ^ Gelder, Lawrence Van (May 19, 2008). "The Mystery Art Buyer". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on May 7, 2019. Retrieved May 16, 2019.
  13. ^ Gleadell, Colin (November 26, 2007). "Sothebys Scores Its Highest-Ever $316M Contemporary Auction". ARTnews. Archived from the original on November 20, 2018. Retrieved May 16, 2019.
  14. ^ a b Holmes, Pernilla (October 1, 2007). "The Branding of Damien Hirst". ARTnews. Archived from the original on June 1, 2016. Retrieved May 16, 2019.
  15. ^ Reif, Rita (November 11, 1988). "Jasper Johns Painting Is Sold for $17 Million". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on April 2, 2019. Retrieved May 16, 2019. Johns's "False Start" was sold for $10 million more than his "White Flag" had brought at Christie's, establishing a new high for a work by a living artist.
  16. ^ Reif, Rita (November 10, 1988). "Johns's 'White Flag' Is Sold for Record Price". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on April 27, 2019. Retrieved May 16, 2019. Jasper Johns's ghostlike "White Flag," ... was sold last night at Christie's for $7 million, the highest price ever paid for a work by a living artist.
  17. ^ "Buyer of Johns Painting". The New York Times. May 9, 1988. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on May 25, 2015. Retrieved May 16, 2019. ... Jasper Johns's fiercely compelling Diver, from 1962, which brought $4.2 million last Tuesday at Christie's, ... was an auction record for a work by any living artist.
  18. ^ Reif, Rita (May 5, 1987). "De Kooning Painting Ties Auction Record". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Willem de Kooning's 'Pink Lady' from 1944 tied the record at auction for a contemporary painting and for a work by a living artist when it was sold last night for $3.63 million at Sotheby's.
  19. ^ Reif, Rita (November 11, 1986). "Jasper Johns Painting Brings Record Price". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Jasper Johns's boldly colored and Expressionistic 'Out the Window,' from 1959, was sold last night for the highest price ever paid at auction for a work by a living artist ...
  20. ^ Carter, E. Graydon (May 23, 1983). "People". Time. Vol. 121, no. 21. p. 51. ISSN 0040-781X – via EBSCOhost. At Christie's in New York City last week, the house applauded enthusiastically as the gavel went down on Abstract Expressionist Willem de Kooning's Two Women. Reason: a price of $1.2 million, the most money paid for a work by a living artist.
  21. ^ "Dali's 'Mere' Sets Auction Record". The New York Times. March 31, 1982. ISSN 0362-4331. Christie's, the auctioneer, said the price for 'Ma Mere,' French for 'My Mother,' was a record auction figure for a living artist.
  22. ^ "Picasso Brings Record $532,000; Price at Sotheby's Is Highest for Work by Living Artist". The New York Times. April 27, 1967. pp. 1, 19. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved December 27, 2019. A Picasso painting brought the highest price ever paid for a work by a living artist. ... At Sotheby & Co., $532,000 was paid for an early Picasso, a 1902 'Mother and Child,' of the artist's Blue Period. ... The Picasso ran far ahead of the former record-holder, 'Death of Harlequin,' which brought $198,000 at Sotheby's in 1962. ... It was pointed out that possibly more may have been paid at a private sale for a work by the Spanish master.
  23. ^ "Price of a Picasso". Time Magazine. 89 (18): 60. May 5, 1967. ISSN 0040-781X. At Sotheby's auction house last week, Picasso's down-and-out souvenir, Mother and Child by the Sea, brought the highest price ever paid for a work by a living artist: $532,000, more than double the previous record, also held by Picasso, whose Death of Harlequin sold in 1962 for $224,000.
  24. ^ Reif, Rita (August 8, 1989). "42 Artworks Collected by Paul Mellon to Be Sold". The New York Times. p. 53. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved December 27, 2019. Picasso's 'Death of Harlequin' from 1905 sold for $224,000, a record at auction for a work by a living artist, at a much publicized 1962 auction of W. Somerset Maugham's collection at Sotheby's in London.
  25. ^ "Master Auctioneer". Time Magazine. 79 (16): 76. April 20, 1962. ISSN 0040-781X. Retrieved December 27, 2019. The 35 paintings went for $1,466,864, including $244,000—the highest price ever paid at auction for a living artist—for a Picasso curiosity that showed The Death of Harlequin on one side and Woman Seated in a Garden on the other.
  26. ^ "In Our Pages: 100, 75, 50 Years Ago". The New York Times. May 6, 2009. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved December 27, 2019. A painting of a nude Dutch girl ... was auctioned off here today for £55,000 ($154,000) — the highest bid ever made anywhere for the work of a living artist. ... 'La Belle Hollandaise,' ... The latest sale bested the record brought by another Picasso, 'Mother and Child,' according to Sotheby's.
  27. ^ "Auction Records Broken in London: A Picasso Sold for £55, 000." Illustrated London News, May 16, 1959, p. 835. Gale HN3100388967 "... at Sotheby's on May 6, an early Picasso nude... was sold ... for £55,000, the highest price ever paid in an auction room for the work of a living artist. Prior to this the record had been held by another Picasso, a Mother and Child, which was sold last November in New York for £54,000.
  28. ^ Saarinen, Aline B. (November 20, 1958). "Auction of Art Brings $1,548,500: 1903 Picasso Sells for $152,000—Gallery Filled by 2,000". The New York Times. p. 1. ISSN 0362-4331. ProQuest 114520684. The top price of $152,000 was paid... for a 1903 Picasso, 'Mother and Child.' It is a record price for a Picasso sold at auction.
  29. ^ M'Cormick, William B. (July 1913). "The Million Dollar Picture: Will It Ever Arrive?". Arts & Decoration. 3 (9): 306–307. In 1887 the world of art was astonished when Judge Hilton, of New York City, paid $66,000 for Meissonier's Friedland—1807, at the sale of the A. T. Stewart collection in Chickering Hall. That was the highest price ever paid for a painting at public sale anywhere in the world up to that time.
  30. ^ Tyrrell, Henry (September 1908). "Bulling the Art Market: Million Dollars Worth of Meissoniers". The Scrap Book. 6 (3): 438.
  31. ^ Lettres, sciences, arts: Encyclopédie universelle du XXe siècle. 1908. 3: 85. "... les Communiantes (Salon de 1884): 227,500 fr. C'est l'enchère la plus considèrable qui ait été atteinte jusqu'alors par un tableau d'artiste vivant"
  32. ^ Methodist Magazine. January 1901. p. 81: "For the painting of 'The First Communion,' by Breton, [Lord Strathcona] paid the sum of $45,000, the highest price, it is said, ever paid for a modern picture sold at auction."
  33. ^ Carol Vogel, Works by Johns and de Kooning Sell for $143.5 Million, The New York Times, October 12, 2006
  34. ^ Muchnic, Suzanne (February 19, 1988). "Is Jasper Johns New Van Gogh of the Art Market?". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Johns' works bring high prices in private sales too. The Whitney Museum of American Art in 1980 paid $1 million--a stunning price at the time--for his "Three Flags" painting in a private transaction.
  35. ^ Vogel, Carol (February 3, 2008). "The Gray Areas of Jasper Johns". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on June 22, 2018. Retrieved May 16, 2019.
  36. ^ Biddle, Flora Miller (2017). The Whitney Women and the Museum They Made: A Family Memoir. Skyhorse. p. 381. ISBN 978-1-62872-809-5.
  37. ^ LIFE Dec 27, 1968, p. 120. "Picasso's top price—in fact, the top price in history for the work of a living artist—was set in Basel, Switzerland, where citizens raised $1,950,000 to buy Two Brothers, 1905, and Seated Harlequin, 1923, for their museum."
  38. ^ King, Ross (2009). The Judgment of Paris: The Revolutionary Decade that Gave the World Impressionism. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 370. ISBN 978-0-8027-1841-9. In 1890, the year before Meissonier's death, Alfred Chauchard, owner of the Grands Magasins du Louvre, an enormous department store in the Rue de Rivoli, paid a staggering 850,000 francs when The Campaign of France, formerly owned by Gaston Delahante, came onto the market. ... This stratospheric price made The Campaign of France the most expensive painting ever purchased during the nineteenth century, by a painter either living or dead.
  1. ^ The auction was organized in partnership with UNICEF, UNESCO, Ministry of Education of the United Arab Emirates, and the Global Gift Foundation.
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