The ten most expensive Vincent van Gogh paintings – The Art Newspaper

Van Gogh’s footage solely often come onto the market and, not surprisingly, they fetch big sums. The odd one is bought privately by means of a supplier, often very discreetly—however in a typical yr lower than a handful are publicly auctioned. Right here we report the ten most costly Van Gogh work which have bought at public sale, all at over $50m.

10. Fields close to Les Alpilles, $52m, 2022

Fields close to Les Alpilles (November 1889) is the tenth most costly Van Gogh to be auctioned, promoting for $52m. This panorama was painted beneath the Les Alpilles, a couple of minutes’ stroll from the asylum outdoors Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, the place Van Gogh lived for a yr in 1889-90. Within the early 2000s the portray was owned by the couturier Yves Saint Laurent and his accomplice Pierre Bergé.

9. Panorama beneath Stormy Sky, $54m, 2015

Panorama beneath Stormy Sky was painted in Arles after Van Gogh had mutilated his ear and only a few weeks earlier than his departure for the asylum. The meadow is filled with springtime flowers with a strolling couple on the left aspect, set beneath a dramatic sky. The image fetched $54m in 2015.

8. Irises, $54m, 1987

Irises (Could 1889), which was in all probability the primary portray achieved by Van Gogh on the asylum, has had an unusually chequered current historical past. In 1987 it bought at Sotheby’s for $54m ($150m in at the moment’s cash), going to the Australian businessman Alan Bond. He confronted monetary issues and was unable to pay, so possession remained with the public sale home.

In 1990 Sotheby’s then bought the Irises to the J. Paul Getty Museum in California in a personal deal. Though the value paid by the museum has by no means been disclosed, it was in all probability across the public sale sum. It’s now among the many highlights of the Getty’s assortment.

7. Poppies and Daisies, $62m, 2014

Poppies and Daisies is a dramatic and vibrant nonetheless life, accomplished only a few weeks earlier than the artist’s suicide in Auvers-sur-Oise. It bought for $62m, going to the Chinese language leisure firm proprietor Wang Zhongjun.

Wang can also be an novice artist who enjoys portray flower nonetheless lifes. After the public sale he commented that the ultimate sum was “barely decrease than I anticipated”. Wang’s buy is one other indication of how the Van Gogh market has shifted dramatically prior to now few years—from North America and Europe to East Asia (China, Hong Kong and South Korea). It’s believed that possession might now reside with different Chinese language consumers.

6. The Avenue of Les Alyscamps, $66m, 2015

The Avenue of Les Alyscamps was painted in Arles, just a few days after the arrival of Van Gogh’s buddy Paul Gauguin, who additionally painted the scene shut by. In 2003 the Van Gogh panorama had bought at Christie’s for $12m, however when it returned to public sale in 2015 an nameless purchaser paid $66m—greater than 5 instances as a lot. It too is believed to have gone to a Chinese language collector.

5. Picket Cabins among the many Olive Timber and Cypresses, $71m, 2021

Picket Cabins among the many Olive Timber and Cypresses went for $71m in 2021. A putting and little identified panorama portray, it was achieved within the countryside outdoors the asylum. It went to Hugo Nathan, of the London artwork advisors Beaumont Nathan, for an unnamed non-public consumer.

4. Self-portrait with no Beard, $72m, 1998

Self-portrait with no Beard soared to $72m (in at the moment’s cash $140m) when it was auctioned again in 1998. Van Gogh’s self-portraits are extremely prized and solely two others stay in non-public fingers. This one was significantly private for Vincent, since he painted it within the asylum as a present to his mom for her seventieth birthday. It’s believed to be hidden away in a really non-public European assortment.

3. Labourer in a Discipline, $81m, 2017

Labourer in a Discipline bought for $81m in 2017. Additionally painted within the asylum, it was impressed by the view from Van Gogh’s bed room. A ploughman is at work, set beneath one of many artist’s highly effective suns. Like most Van Goghs that come onto the market, this too bought to an nameless purchaser.

2. Portrait of Dr Paul Gachet, $83m, 1990

Portrait of Dr Paul Gachet held the report as the costliest Van Gogh for over 30 years. As way back as 1990 it fetched $83m at Christie’s, then the very best public sale value for a piece by any artist. With inflation, this is able to be equal to $200m at the moment. In actual phrases, this implies it stays the costliest Van Gogh.

So why did it make the report value? It’s undoubtedly amongst Van Gogh’s most interesting portraits. Dr Gachet was a key determine in Vincent’s life, caring for him after the artist shot himself in Auvers-sur-Oise, so the identification of the sitter provides enormously to its curiosity.

In 1990 Portrait of Dr Paul Gachet went to a Tokyo purchaser—at a time when Japanese collectors have been feverishly competing over the massive names of Impressionism and Publish-Impressionism. It was purchased by the businessman Ryoei Saito, who later claimed that he wished the portray to be cremated along with his physique. Thankfully, this didn’t happen on his demise in 1996, and as a substitute the Van Gogh was bought privately to Wolfgang Flöttl, an Austrian funding supervisor. After he confronted monetary issues the portrait modified fingers once more and is now owned by an especially secretive European billionaire.

1. Orchard with Cypresses, $117m, 2022

In 2022 Orchard with Cypresses bought at Christie’s, New York for $117m, coming from the gathering of Microsoft co-founder, the late Paul Allen. It is without doubt one of the sequence of spring blossom work which Van Gogh made quickly after his arrival in Arles. It now stands as a report value for a Van Gogh portray, till the following nice masterpiece comes alongside.

And never forgetting Sunflowers, $40m, 1987

Lacking from the highest ten is Sunflowers, which bought in 1987, when the increase in artwork costs was simply starting. It’s one in every of seven nonetheless lifes of sunflowers that Van Gogh painted in Arles. This one is his personal copy of the unique model with a yellow background which is now at London’s Nationwide Gallery.

When it got here up at Christie’s in 1987, the £24m ($40m) paid was thrice greater than any art work had ever fetched at public sale ($110m in at the moment’s cash). It was additionally the primary time the report value for a murals had been for a Trendy image, slightly than an Outdated Grasp. The customer was the Tokyo-based Yasuda insurance coverage firm. The agency was later taken over by the Sompo firm and the Van Gogh is now the star attraction on the Sompo Museum of Artwork.

Sunflowers has proved to be an astonishing funding. If it ever got here onto the market once more, it might actually be price a number of hundred million {dollars}.

Numerous Van Goghs have been bought privately for costs in the identical vary as people who went to public sale. These embody a Portrait of Joseph Roulin (January 1889), acquired by New York’s Museum of Trendy Artwork in 1989; a model of Wheatfield with Cypresses (June 1889), acquired by New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Artwork in 1993; and Lady towards a Background of Wheat (June 1890), purchased by on line casino boss Steve Wynn in 1999 and now owned by hedge fund supervisor Steven Cohen.

Considerably, all of the works coated in our survey have been painted within the final two years or so of Van Gogh’s life, when he was working in Provence or the village of Auvers-sur-Oise outdoors Paris. It’s these late footage that fetch the mega sums. And the highest ten have been all bought in New York, a sign that the principle demand has shifted away from Europe.

However instances are altering, and the market is shifting once more. In 2021 Sotheby’s bought Nonetheless life: Vase with Gladioli (August-September 1886) in Hong Kong. It went for HKD 71 ($9m), in all probability going to a Chinese language purchaser. It now appears that half of all Van Gogh portray gross sales are to the Far East.

REVISED: Initially printed in April 2022, this weblog publish was up to date with new gross sales info on 19 March 2025.