Most Expensive Paintings Ever Sold List

Most Expensive Paintings Ever Sold

(I'm showing the original prices of these artworks, not the "adjusted prices". The full list that I found on wiki was organized and "ordered by consumer price index inflation-adjusted value" as of March 2010)

1. Jackson Pollock's No. 5, 1948 = $140 million

(After taking an "Art Since 1945" class I can understand why Pollock was so influential in the art world. He was an abstract expressionist that focused not on the final product of a piece, but instead the process. It was the performance of painting that was important. And although it may look easy, I guess Pollock is a really hard artist to copy. He created his pieces using a certain technique that many can't duplicate. I'm still amazed this is #1 though.)

2. Willem de Kooning's Woman III = $137.5 million

(I don't know much about Willem de Kooning or his work, but it seems people are really willing to spend a lot for the work of the leading New York Abstract Expressionists)

3. Gustav Klimt's Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I = $135 million

(Maybe because it's gold plated it made the list. Either way I really dislike this artist's work. When I was in the 6th grade, my art teacher had a reproduction of his piece The Kiss in her classroom. I didn't know it was a reproduction and I thought it was my teacher's work. I remember thinking no wonder she became a teacher and never got big in the art world, her work sucks. A bit ironic and funny though because The Kiss was painted by Gustav klimt and is a pretty famous painting.)

4. Vincent van Gogh's Portrait of Dr. Gachet = $82.5 million

(It's so sad how out of the top 36 most expensive paintings in the world, van Gogh made the list 7 times. While he was alive, he was considered a failed artist and was given no praise. He lived a miserable life and ended up trying to kill himself, which he also failed at. Only after he died was he appreciated.)

5. Pierre-Auguste Renoir's Bal du moulin de la Galette = $78.1 million

(I don't know a lot about Renoir's life or his work. I know that he helped develop the Impressionist style. I have seen many of his paintings throughout my life. Recently I saw his Dance at Bougival at the MFA in Boston, it's an amazing piece.)