Art prices are determined by the meeting of real or induced scarcity with pure, irrational desire, and nothing is more manipulable than desire.Robert Hughes, Australian art critic
While everyone can afford to buy a daub, very few among us can boast to have a Picasso or a Matisse over their fireplace. Actually, if you do, you could most probably be called a millionaire. Indeed, paintings and art pieces can sometimes reach incredible prices during auctions, due to speculation among "collectionneurs". In what follows, we challenge you to guess a few facts about the most expensive art pieces ever sold in history, so that you can become a true art collector — or at least a decent art critic, if you're a bit short on resources.
Please click on the painting which you think is the most expensive among the three.
Well, the art market can be a little volatile you know...
Just guess...
When considering the top 10 most expensive paintings and sculptures ever sold, which art branch weights more than the other in your opinion?
Distribution of the most expensive art pieces ever sold during an auction by category (painting in red, sculpture in blue).
As you can see on the distribution, if you are a bit broke these days, you might consider buying a sculpture instead.
Who do you think is at the top of this leaderboard, in terms of agregated value?
Below is the list (in descending order) of the most expensive art pieces sold during an auction, grouped by artist. Picasso definitely is the boss.
Picasso used to do little sketches on napkins when he went to the restaurant. Once asked by the owner of a small bistro whether he would be so kind as to do a little drawing on a napkin in exchange for paying the bill, Picasso accepted. Yet, when the owner came back with the drawing asking for Picasso to sign it, the latter replied to him that he only wanted to pay his bill, not buy the restaurant. What a cool lad!
Sotheby's and Christie's are the top two leading fine art auctioneers in the world. Both of them sold around 4 billion pounds of art and collectibles in 2016, according to the the international auction house. In your opinion, which one is at the top of this leaderboard?
Agregated value of sales per auction house.
Which country does aggregate the most money in your opinion? (you might consider taking the Picasso bias into account)
Below is the list (in descending order) of the richest countries in terms of aggregated value of their artists.
| Andy Warhol: | $ 617,7 million |
| Mark Rothko: | $ 590,9 million |
| Jackson Pollock: | $ 368,3 million |
| Jasper Johns: | $ 215,8 million |
| Barnett Newman: | $ 193,8 million |
| Cy Twombly: | $ 141,7 million |
| Roy Lichtenstein: | $ 96,4 million |
| Jeff Koons: | $ 95,2 million |
| Thomas Eakins: | $ 78,5 million |
| David Smith: | $ 28,8 million |
$ 2,427 million
| Vincent van Gogh: | $ 801,8 million |
| Willem de Kooning: | $ 608,1 million |
| Rembrandt: | $ 182 million |
| Peter Paul Rubens: | $ 102,1 million |
$ 1,694 million
| Pablo Picasso: | $ 1364,7 million |
$ 1,364.7 million
| Paul Cézanne: | $ 466 million |
| Paul Gauguin: | $ 303 million |
| Claude Monet: | $ 171 million |
| Pierre-Auguste Renoir: | $ 143,2 million |
| Édouard Manet: | $ 65,9 million |
| Henri Matisse: | $ 53,6 million |
$ 1,202.7 million
| Amedeo Modigliani: | $ 436,2 million |
| Titian: | $ 244,7 million |
| Attributed to Leonardo da Vinci: | $ 131,1 million |
| Pontormo: | $ 68 million |
$ 880 million
Well... maybe you should reconsider applying for US citizenship here.
Make a guess:
Below is the list (in descending order) of the richest museums in terms of aggregated value of their art pieces.
Last thing, now that you seem ready to be a good art dealer, remember to save some money for summer. Indeed, most auctions take place in August. So don't you miss it!
Each bubble is proportional to cumulated auction prices of art pieces sold during this month.
Click on the thumb if you enjoyed the experience!
Don't be shy! Share that with your friends :)
Paul RoujanskyAugustin AdorPia Penanhoat-Aubry