Tag: Art Sales

Top 5 Most Expensive Paintings Ever Sold

leonardo salvator mundi

When it comes to the world of art, certain paintings command staggering prices that represent the pinnacle of human spending power. These masterpieces are highly cherished by investors, collectors, and art lovers alike. The top five most expensive artworks ever sold are a testament to the enduring value of art. Ranging from the masterful brushstrokes of Leonardo da Vinci to the bold color fields of Mark Rothko, these works hold more capital than some banks. In this article, we will take a closer look at the most expensive artworks ever sold, examining the artists, the works, and the prices they fetched at auction or private sale. Whether you are a seasoned collector or simply an art enthusiast, read on to discover the most valuable paintings in history.

The Modigliani Affaire

The death of Amedeo Modigliani and of his devoted partner Jeanne Hebuterne starts one of the most emblematic stories of the Art Market, which will lead the works of the unfortunate Tuscan artist to be subject of an “exceptional enterprise of economic revaluation”.

The acme of the speculative operation has been reached with the auction award for 170,405,000 US dollars of the “Red Nude”, which previously belonged to Gualino Collection and to Feroldi Collection and then in 1950 was acquired by the art collector Gianni Mattioli thanks to the interest of his cousin, Fernanda Wittgens, the then Director of the Pinacoteca di Brera.

The valorization of Modigliani’s Work thus began in the ‘50s on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean: in Europe activities revolved around “Il Milione Gallery” in Milan and in America around Museum of Modern Art in New York.

Top 5 Best-Performing American Artists of 2022

This article shows a selection made by MutualArt of the Top 5 US Artists of 2022 due to their performance in sales and exhibitions of their work. The top performers are:

1. Andy Warhol (1928 – 1987)

Andy Warhol was an American Postwar & Contemporary artist who was born in 1928. In 2022 he achieved sales for 570,207,409 USD

Numerous key galleries and museums such as Hamburger Bahnhof, Museum of Contemporary Art have featured Andy Warhol’s work in the past.

Since 1998 the record price for this artist at auction is 195,040,000 USD for “Shot Sage Blue Marilyn” which sold at Christie’s New York in 2022. 

Learn more about the other best-performing American artists of 2022.

Takeaways from a Record-Breaking Early Auction Season

Collection sales dominated headlines of another record-breaking fall auction season, while the emerging market feels the pressure of economic worries.

With art market prices soaring as of late, recent blue-chip auctions were projected to reach significant high-flying, record-breaking heights. Not only did these lots deliver, but in some instances their price tags surpassed their monumental estimates. The highly anticipated Paul Allen collection, the personal assortment of paintings and sculptures owned by the late Microsoft co-founder, blew past the $1 billion estimated value, which already would’ve made his collection the most expensive ever sold.

While some say the results of the Phillips auction suggests a cooling of the market, works of personal collections, especially those hidden from public view for prolonged periods of time are doing exceedingly well.

Cellini In Trouble Again? Charges Brought Against His €107 Million Portrait

It seems that the mischievous spirit of Benvenuto Cellini lives on in his mysterious €107 million self-portrait that 500 years later continues to stir up trouble for everyone who comes in contact with it.

Explore this fascinating story of money, betrayal, and prestige in our exclusive interview with Prof. Mikhail Tamoikin, the man who appraised and put the now-famous self-portrait of Benvenuto Cellini on the map.

It’s a saga worthy of Cellini himself!

Exclusive Interview: MONCHO1929 – Explosive Public Artist for the VIP | Google, Audi, Figge, Buffett

From Google and Audi to the French Consulate of the US, from Paramount and Universal Pictures to the Public Art collections of cities like Glendale, Los Angeles, and West Hollywood – his work has been featured in various solo and group exhibitions in the United States and all over the World! This is WAN’s exclusive interview with an explosive public artist – MONCHO1929

The Problem with NFTs

Around February of this year, in the midst of the still-pending cryptocurrency boom, a sub-category of digital assets started to really take off. NonFungible.com reported that by the first quarter of 2021, over $2 billion worth of transactions had taken place in the NFT market. Musician Grimes sold almost $6 million worth of digital art via digital asset marketplace Nifty Gateway, who are partnered with Sotheby’s. Twitter founder Jack Dorsey auctioned his first ever tweet as an NFT, the final bid closing at $2.9 million. UFC Heavyweight Champion Francis Ngannou sold NFTs following his knockout victory over Stipe Miocic. The proceeds of the sale, $580,000, was actually more than his disclosed purse for the fight itself that earned him the belt. Despite the hype, in many regards serving as a speculator’s dream, NFTs come with inherent issues that threaten to hamper widespread and enduring adoption.

Interview with Metal Sculpture Artist Chris O’Rourke | Part 1 – $150,000 Statue

As a longtime car and motorcycle enthusiast, Chris O’Rourke’s journey from metal fabricator to sculpture artist is a shining example of how materials typically reserved for mechanical applications are equally suited to art when in the right hands. In this two-part series, WAN has the pleasure of interviewing a unique artist whose pursuit of perfection has resulted in his work being highly valuated in the art world.

METRO NEWS: Soviet painting by Czeslaw Znamierowski sold in China for $120,000

Czeslaw Znamierowski, an artist who died forty years ago, is gaining fame in the 21st century. His artwork recently sold for $120,000 in China, setting a personal record.

Znamerovsky’s paintings began to be bought up by oriental auctions, galleries and collectors, according to the Chinese news agencies.

In a relatively short time, the cost of Cheslav Znamerovsky’s paintings increased from several hundred to tens of thousands and even hundreds of thousands of dollars.