5 Record-Breaking Artworks at Auction
Browse through this list of art world sensations, record-breaking prices, and history-making artworks that stunned us at auction, all recorded on our free database.
Artory’s price database, which contains millions of transaction records from auction houses across the globe, was an integral part of the research conducted in the Art Basel and UBS 2020 Art Market Report. From classic masterpieces to innovative contemporary artworks, Artory contains a diverse array of data points, provenance records, and price histories that are invaluable to collectors and art historians alike.
#1 THE MOST EXPENSIVE ARTWORK REGISTERED ON THE BLOCKCHAIN THROUGH ARTORY.
“Chop Suey” (1929) by Edward Hopper.
Estimated Price: USD 70,000,000–100,000,000
Premium Price: USD 91,875,000
“Chop Suey” is a seminal piece by Edward Hopper, demonstrating the artist’s uncanny ability to portray loneliness within the busy city. The artwork was owned by Barney A. Ebsworth and was sold by Christie’s at “An American Place: The Barney A. Ebsworth Collection Evening Sale.” The Collection was one of the largest and most impressive private collections of American art. The entire auction was recorded on the blockchain through Artory, making it the first auction to leverage blockchain technology. At a price of over $90M, “Chop Suey” is also the most expensive artwork by Hopper ever sold.
#2 THE HIGHEST PRICE AT AUCTION IN 2019.
“Meules” (1890) by Claude Monet
Premium Price: USD 110,747,000
From the artist’s famed Haystacks series, “Meules” was sold by Sotheby’s during their Impressionist & Modern Art Evening Sale in May of 2019. The bid is also a record-breaking price as the highest ever paid for a work by Claude Monet.
#3 THE MOST EXPENSIVE PAINTING SOLD AT AUCTION BY A LIVING FEMALE ARTIST.
“Propped” (1992) by Jenny Saville
Estimated Price: GBP 3,000,000–4,000,000
Premium Price: GBP 9,537,250
“Propped” is considered to be one of the most important paintings by a living British artist. A self-portrait, the work comments on representations of female beauty. The work was sold by Sotheby’s during the auction The History Of Now: The Collection Of David Teiger in October of 2018.
#4 THE MOST EXPENSIVE PAINTING BY A LIVING AFRICAN AMERICAN ARTIST.
“Past Times” (1997) by Kerry James Marshall
Estimated Price: USD 8,000,000–12,000,000
Premium Price: USD 21,114,500
“Past Times” is a prime demonstration of Kerry James Marshall’s artistic intention to lift African American culture and history to its rightful place in artistic traditions. Marshall is focused on black representation in painting and reimagining the painfully homogeneous origins of painting. This artwork is from Marshall’s Garden Project series: a collection of paintings that share the name of the public housing development where Marshall grew up. The work was sold by Sotheby’s during their Contemporary Art Evening Auction in May of 2018, and currently owned by Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Ark.
#5 THE MOST EXPENSIVE PHOTOGRAPH EVER SOLD AT AUCTION.
“Rhein II” (1999) by Andreas Gursky
Estimated Price: USD 2,500,000–3,500,000
Premium Price: USD 4,338,500
“Rhein II” is a large-scale photograph, measuring in at 73 × 143 inches. The image is a classic representation of Gursky’s signature style and subject matter. The piece was sold by Christie’s at their Post-War Contemporary Evening Sale.
