The Most Expensive Art in the World

The Mona Lisa is arguably the most recognizable painting in the world. This 14th-century painting by Leonardo Da Vinci was given to the Louvre Museum's art collection in Paris in 1804 and, except for a few occasional visits overseas, has remained there since. This piece of art has been the object of theft and defilement over the last century, as it was stolen from the Louvre in 1911 and attacked amid various environmental and political protests. The painting officially belongs to the French government, making it nearly impossible to price or sell. However, in 1962, the painting was insured for over $100 million. An estimated value with inflation would value the painting at a little under $1 billion. 

Salvator Mundi by Leonardo da Vinci was sold at a Christie’s auction for $450 million to the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman. In 2017, when Christie’s was campaigning for the sale of this piece that they coined "The Last Da Vinci," it sold for $450.3 million, making it the most expensive sale at Christie’s to date. 

Next on the list is The Card Players by Paul Cézanne. The creation date for this piece is 1890, and, like a good portion of Cézanne's work, it depicts a tranquil scene of everyday Frenchmen. This particular painting is said to take place in Aix-en-Provence, France, the birthplace of Cézanne and the location of his private studio. There are four other Card Players paintings in the series that belong to collections at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Musée d’Orsay, the Courtauld, and the Barnes Foundation. This particular painting was sold to the nation of Qatar for a whopping $250 million. 

Nafea Faa Ipoipo? (When Will You Marry?) was painted by French painter Paul Gauguin during his visit to Tahiti in 1891. Gauguin painted this piece in an effort to find idyllic scenes that exist outside of Europe. In 2015, The New York Times reported that the painting would be sold for close to $300 million, which, at the time, made it the most expensive painting sale. However, after a lawsuit in 2017, the price was revealed to be $210 million. 

Oil drip paintings are what American expressionist painter Jackson Pollock is known for, and Number 17A is one of his earliest and most expensive pieces. The work was sold in 2015 by the David Geffen Foundation to hedge fund manager Kenneth C. Griffin.

Originally belonging to Elie de Rothschild, in 2021 the Dutch government announced plans to acquire the painting and bring it back to its homeland. The 17th-century Dutch painter Rembrandt Harmensz van Rijn, simply known as Rembrandt, was famous for painting portraits and biblical scenes. The Standard Bearer portrays a soldier who belonged to the Dutch troops who fought for the Netherlands' independence in 1648. By January 2022, the Dutch acquired the painting for €175 million (around $198 million), and it now sits in the Rijksmuseum. 

Shot Sage Blue Marilyn by the famed American visual artist Andy Warhol was sold for $195 million in May 2022 making it the most expensive piece of 20th-century art to sell at auction. Known for his colorful paintings and prints, Shot Sage Blue Marilyn is part of Warhol's series of Marilyn Monroe silkscreen portraits.

These 17th-century full-length wedding portraits of Maerten Soolmans, son of a wealthy Flemish immigrant, and his wife Oopjen Coppit are one of the few wedding portraits to be kept together since their creation. While it was formerly owned by the Rothschilds, the family sold the pair of paintings to the Louvre and the Rijksmuseum for $180 million. The European museums take turns displaying the pieces.