News / Art Market December 2021 - February 2022 GLOBAL
ART AT AUCTION Many famous paintings are of value not only for what they represent or depict but for who painted them. So much so, they fetch millions when they go to auction. Here are the most famous artists that are the most invested in, based on the most expensive paintings ever sold at auction. Rank
Artist name
No. of paintings sold at auction
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Pablo Picasso Andy Warhol Mark Rothko Willem de Kooning Vincent van Gogh Amedeo Modigliani Gustav Klimt Francis Bacon Leonardo da Vinci Claude Monet
15 8 7 5 9 4 3 5 1 5
Pablo Picasso is the artist most invested-in at auction. To date, 15 of his most expensive paintings have sold at auction for a colossal €1.1 billion collectively. Out of the 15, ‘Les Femmes of d’Alger’ sold for the most at €158.4 million in 2015 to Qatari politician Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani. In second position is Andy Warhol. The American artist’s eight biggest paintings have sold at auction for a collective €703.1 million. Mark Rothko is in third place. Seven of his priciest paintings sold at auction have generated a total of €678.9 million. His work titled ‘No.20’ (€177 million) and ‘No.6’ (€164 million) fetched the most sizable sums. Interestingly, despite just having one of his paintings at auction, Leonardo da Vinci’s iconic ‘Salvator Mundi’ sold for astonishing €397.8 million in 2017, making it the single most valuable painting in the world.
Warhol, Orange Marilyn. Photo by Caro Henriquez, Flickr
Average value per painting sold at auction (€) €73.0m €87.9m €97.0m €112.4m €54.8m €113.7m €138.1m €82.0m €397.8m €75.6m
Collective value of paintings sold at auction (€) €1.1b €703.1m €678.9m €562.1m €492.8m €454.7m €414.2m €410.1m €397.8m €377.8m
At the other end in tenth position is French artist Claude Monet. To date, five of his priciest paintings have sold at auction for an accumulative €377.8 million. The overall value of the 62 most influential paintings sold at auction of the artists in the top 10 equates to an eye watering €5.59 billion.
Picasso, Les Femmes of d’Alger. Photo by Artsy
“Understand the difference – Make sure you understand the difference between originals, prints, giclées and reproductions. Original is a one-of-a-kind work of art, print is a copy of a piece of art, giclées is the highest quality print available of a piece of art and reproductions are copies of original works without a limited run of printing.
“Maintenance – A painting will often only hold its value if it is in pristine condition – evaluate how you would store any purchased paintings and factor in variables such as sunlight exposure and room temperature/humidity.”
Salman Haqqi, investing expert at money.co.uk, offers his guidance on what to consider before investing in artwork: “Investing in paintings can be a lucrative way to diversify your asset portfolio, but before taking any action it is important to carry out some careful due diligence. Here are some top tips: “Immerse yourself – Try to better understand the art community by attending art exhibitions and auctions. When you do attend, don’t just admire the paintings, network to build valuable contacts with seasoned professionals in the art industry.
Da Vinci, Salvator Mundi. Photo by Jozef Klopacka, Shutterstock
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