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Most Expensive Paintings
Trois Grandes Dames
Paintings
People
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Painting

These are essentially questions about paintings and painters, that don't simply ask who painted one or more particular paintings.

The Most Expensive Paintings

For reasons I'm not entirely sure about (it may be something to do with the price being more verifiable, and/or auction prices being a better gauge of true value than a private sale), it's important to distinguish between the highest price ever paid for a painting and the highest price paid at auction.

Year Sale Price (approx) Title Artist
2017 Auction $450 million Click to show or hide the answer Click to show or hide the answer
2015 Private $300 million Click to show or hide the answer Click to show or hide the answer
2011 Private $250+ million Click to show or hide the answer Click to show or hide the answer
2015 Auction $170 million Click to show or hide the answer Click to show or hide the answer

Salvator Mundi is currently (as of April 2018) the most expensive painting ever. Previously, the most expensive painting was Interchange – although Wikipedia notes that The Card Players (sold four years previously) may have fetched a price that came very close to that paid for Interchange.

According to the same Wikipedia page, four other paintings have been sold privately for higher prices than that paid for Les Femmes d'Alger.

Before Salvator Mundi, the most expensive painting ever sold at auction was Les Femmes d'Alger.

The highest price paid for a painting by a living artist:

2018 Auction $90.3 million Click to show or hide the answer Click to show or hide the answer

Les Trois Grandes Dames

Named as "the three great ladies" of Impressionism, by the French journalist, art critic, historian and novelist Gustave Geffroy (1855–1926):

Married to a noted printmaker (by whose surname she is known), who disapproved of the Impressionist movement and was said by their son to have suppressed her work Click to show or hide the answer
Born in the USA, but spent much of her adult life in France: a long–term collaborator of Edgar Degas, who painted her portrait (she hated it) Click to show or hide the answer
Great–great–niece of Jean–Honoré Fragonard, and sister–in–law of Édouard Manet, who painted her portrait (she married his brother Eugène) Click to show or hide the answer

Paintings

Title of a famous painting by Manet, also applied to one by Degas (the latter being properly called A Sketch of a French Café, later called L'Absinthe) Click to show or hide the answer
Fresco by Giotto, dated 1305–6 – one of a series on the life and passion of Jesus, in the Arena Chapel in Padua – which shows Halley's Comet as the Star of Bethlehem (after the painter is believed to have observed it in 1301) – leading to the 1986 ESA space probe being named after him Click to show or hide the answer
Painting by Holbein, with a distorted skull in the foreground only seen in the right proportions from a particular angle Click to show or hide the answer
Matisse painting reportedly hung upside down for 47 days in 1961 by the New York Museum of Modern Art Click to show or hide the answer
1893 painting by the Pre–Raphaelite, John William Waterhouse: inspired by an 1819 poem by Keats, of the same (French) title, about a fairy femme fatale Click to show or hide the answer
Gainsborough (c. 1770): sold in 1920 to the American railway pioneer Henry E. Huntington, reportedly for a record price of $728,800 (£182,200), causing a public outcry in Britain; can be seen in his collection at San Marino, California (Los Angeles County) Click to show or hide the answer
John Everett Millais (1871): depicts a scene on the sea front at Budleigh Salterton, Devon; came to epitomise the culture of heroic imperialism in late Victorian Britain Click to show or hide the answer
Painting by Degas: stolen from a museum in Marseille in 2009, found during a "random search" in the luggage compartment of a bus near Paris Click to show or hide the answer
The most famous section of Michelangelo's ceiling to the Sistine Chapel: reproduced in countless contexts, including (a detail) in the title sequence to ITV's The South Bank Show Click to show or hide the answer
Work by Banksy (one of a series), which (partly) shredded itself after being sold at Sotheby's in October 2018 – after which it was renamed Click to show or hide the answer
Matisse: controversial portrait of his wife, 1905 Click to show or hide the answer
Picasso painting of the bombing of a Spanish town during the Civil War; originally exhibited at the Paris International Exposition in 37; then toured Scandinavia and arrived in London the day after the signing of the Munich agreement; sent to the USA to raise funds for Spanish refugees, and entrusted at Picasso's request to the New York Museum of Modern Art (MOMA); returned to Spain in 1981; kept initially in the Prado, but moved in 1992 (with the rest of the 20th century collection) to the Reina Sofia (also in Madrid) Click to show or hide the answer
Series of paintings and engravings by Hogarth, 1731–2: shows the story of a young woman, M. (Moll or Mary) Hackabout, who arrives in London from the country and becomes a prostitute; inspired a TV film (Channel 4, 2006) and an opera by the British composer Iain Bell (2013) Click to show or hide the answer
Willy Lott's House (or cottage, or farm) is depicted in (Constable) Click to show or hide the answer
1872 painting of the harbour at Le Havre (his home town) by Monet, said to have given the name to the Impressionist movement (exhibited at the 'Exhibition of the Impressionists' in 1874) Click for more information Click to show or hide the answer
1888 painting by the Pre–Raphaelite John William Waterhouse, on an Arthurian theme: inspired by an 1832 poem of the same title by Alfred, Lord Tennyson Click to show or hide the answer
Major work by Michelangelo, on the altar wall of the Sistine Chapel Click to show or hide the answer
Famous fresco (by Leonardo) in the refectory of the Monastery of Santa Maria Della Grazie, Milan Click to show or hide the answer
Title given by Banksy's representatives to his painting Girl with Balloon, after it shredded itself on being sold at auction in 2018 (fetching £1,042,000) Click to show or hide the answer
Series of six paintings by Hogarth, 1743–5: The Marriage Settlement, The Tête à Tête, The Inspection, The Toilette, The Bagnio, The Lady's Death (this series was not as well received as the earlier A Harlot's Progress or A Rake's Progress) Click to show or hide the answer
La Gioconda (from the name of the supposed sitter – the wife of Francisco del Giaconda, a moderately successful Florentine cloth and silk merchant – née Gherardini) is better known as Click to show or hide the answer
Stolen from The Louvre in 1911, and returned there in 1914 after being found in Florence Click for more information
David Hockney's 1970–1 portrait of the textile designer Celia Birtwell, her (more famous) fashion designer husband, and one of their catsClick for more information Click to show or hide the answer
The Company of Frans Banning Cocq and Willem van Ruytenburch (Rembrandt, 1642): popular title Click to show or hide the answer
1931 painting by Salvador Dali, showing three pocket watches apparently melting in a stylised landscape, and one not melting but apparently covered by ants; sometimes known as Melting Clocks, Soft Watches or Melting Watches Click to show or hide the answer
Italian title of a famous painting by Botticelli – meaning 'Spring' Click to show or hide the answer
The 1819 painting that made the name of the French painter Théodore Géricault: depicting the aftermath of a famous incident that occurred in 1816, when a French frigate ran aground off the north–west coast of Africa (Géricault died in 1824, aged 32) Click to show or hide the answer
Series of eight paintings by Hogarth (1732–3, published from engravings in 1734): inspired a ballet by Gavin Gordon, choreographed by Ninette de Valois (1935) and an opera by Stravinsky (also 1951) Click to show or hide the answer
1844 painting by Turner, now in the National Gallery: shows a railway locomotive crossing a bridge (identified as Maidenhead Bridge over the Thames); a hare is depicted running in front of the train Click to show or hide the answer
Episode from the legendary history of Rome (traditionally dated to 750 BC) that has inspired works by Poussin (two versions, 1634–5), Rubens (1635–40), David (1799), Degas (c. 1861–2, after Poussin) and Picasso (several versions, 1962–3), among othersClick for more information Click to show or hide the answer
The only painting sold by Van Gogh in his lifetime Click for more information Click to show or hide the answer
Popular name for Velasquez's The Toilet of Venus (a.k.a. Venus at her Mirror, or Venus and Cupid) – after the stately home in County Durham where it was displayed from 1813 to 1906 (now in the National Gallery, and a copy can be seen in the house; the National Gallery original was badly damaged in 1914 by the suffragette Mary Richardson) Click to show or hide the answer
One of fewer than 20 known works by Leonardo da Vinci, and the only one in private hands: became the world's most expensive painting when it was sold for just over $450 million in November 2017 Click to show or hide the answer
Series of images – 3 paintings, 2 pastels, 1 lithograph – by Edvard Munch, 1893–1910, depicting an agonised figure against a blood–red sky; one was stolen from the Norwegian National Gallery in 1994 (recovered later the same year); one from the Munch Museum (Oslo) in 2004, recovered in 2006 Click to show or hide the answer
Magritte, 1946: showing a man in an overcoat and a bowler hat, with his face almost hidden by an apple Click to show or hide the answer
Van Gogh painting sold for £24m in 1987 Click to show or hide the answer
Magritte, 1938: a railway locomotive, in full steam, emerges from a fireplace Click to show or hide the answer
Famous drawing by Leonardo da Vinci, depicting a nude male figure with arms and legs in two positions, superimposed on a circle and a square; named after a Roman architect of the 1st century BC, on whose description it's based; used in the title sequence of the long–running (1963–98) ITV documentary series World in Action Click to show or hide the answer
Arrangement in grey and black, no. 1: better known as Click to show or hide the answer
Constable's A Scene on the River Stour became known as Click to show or hide the answer

People

The Series of the Months (often referred to as The Months of the Year) (1565) is the supreme achievement of Click to show or hide the answer
The Maya in Goya's two paintings (clothed and naked) Click to show or hide the answer
Depicted 'The Great Red Dragon' in various scenes from the Book of Revelation – when commissioned to illustrate the books of the BibleClick for more information Click to show or hide the answer
English painter and critic who painted Napoleon as a prisoner and became Director of the National Gallery in 1855 Click to show or hide the answer
Painter of The Disasters of War; became completely deaf in 1792 Click to show or hide the answer
Singer, often painted by Toulouse–Lautrec wearing long black gloves Click to show or hide the answer
Sons of Pieter Breugel: Pieter the Younger and Click to show or hide the answer
US President painted by Pietro Annigoni Click to show or hide the answer
Austrian artist (born 1862): enjoyed a 'golden phase' in the early 20th century, when he used gold leaf in many of his paintings Click to show or hide the answer
South Bank Show: two hands come from The Creation of Adam by Click to show or hide the answer
Subject of A Very Gallant Gentleman (1913), by J. C. Dolland (the title echoing his epitaph) Click to show or hide the answer
Has had more portraits painted of her than any other person Click to show or hide the answer
Black on Maroon, vandalised at London's Tate Modern in October 2012, was by (Russian–born American painter) Click to show or hide the answer
Ceiling of the Banqueting House, Whitehall Click to show or hide the answer
Sandham Memorial Chapel, in the village of Burghclere, Berkshire, was built in the 1920s to accommodate a series of paintings by Click to show or hide the answer
1766 treatise The Anatomy of the Horse Click to show or hide the answer
The Langlois Bridge at Arles, in southern France (a drawbridge on a canal), is the subject of four oil paintings, one watercolour and four drawings by Click to show or hide the answer
Rolling Stones Sticky Fingers album: sleeve design; and the Stones' tongue logo Click to show or hide the answer
We Two Boys Together Clinging (Hockney, 1961): named after a poem by Click to show or hide the answer

Other

Famous British beer, bottles of which appear in Manet's A Bar at the Folies Bergeres Click to show or hide the answer
Mr. & Mrs. Clark and Percy (David Hockney, 1970–1): Percy is a Click to show or hide the answer
El Paradiso (Paradise) – the largest 'old master' in the world – is in Click to show or hide the answer
Hubert and Jan van Eyck: famous altarpiece at Click to show or hide the answer
The English painters Nicholas Hilliard (c. 1547–1619), Richard Cosway (1742–1821) and George Engleheart (1750–1829) were famous for Click to show or hide the answer
In Botticelli's The Birth of Venus (c. 1486), Venus is standing on a Click for more information Click to show or hide the answer
Ana Maria, who frequently modelled for Dali in the mid–1920s: relation to the artist Click to show or hide the answer
Frescoes depicting God's Creation of the World, God's relationship with Mankind, Mankind's fall from God's Grace (including "the creation of Adam") Click to show or hide the answer
River that features in many paintings by Constable (including The Hay Wain) Click to show or hide the answer
Collection housed at Hertford House in London's West End Click to show or hide the answer
The world's finest collection of the drawings of Leonardo is at Click to show or hide the answer

© Haydn Thompson 2017–23