7 Why Do You Think Van Goghs Art Is Still Prized Today?
Vincent van Gogh's pictures but very occasionally come onto the market and, non surprisingly, they fetch huge sums. The odd one is sold privately through a dealer, often very discreetly—just in a typical yr but a scattering are publicly auctioned.
Here we record the 10 most expensive Van Gogh paintings that accept ever been sold at sale, plus i coming up at Christie'due south in May, which should just brand it into the listing.
1. Portrait of Dr Paul Gachet, $83m, 1990
Van Gogh's Portrait of Dr Paul Gachet (June 1890), sold for $83m at Christie's, New York, 15 May 1990 Courtesy of Städel Museum, Frankfurt
Portrait of Dr Paul Gachet still holds the tape for the most expensive Van Gogh, although it sold as long ago equally 1990. At Christie'southward it fetched $83m, then the highest sale toll for a work by any artist. With inflation, it would be equivalent to $180m today.
And so why did it make the tape toll? Information technology is undoubtedly among Van Gogh's finest portraits. Dr Gachet was a cardinal figure in Vincent'south life, caring for him after the artist shot himself in Auvers-sur-Oise, so the sitter adds greatly to the interest. In 1990 information technology went to a Tokyo heir-apparent—and at that time Japanese collectors were feverishly competing over the large names of Impressionism and Post-Impressionism.
Portrait of Dr Paul Gachet was bought by the businessman Ryoei Saito, who later claimed that he wanted the painting to be cremated with his body. Fortunately, this did not occur on his death in 1996, and instead the Van Gogh was sold privately to Wolfgang Flöttl, an Austrian investment director. Afterward he faced financial problems the portrait changed hands again and is now owned by an extremely secretive European billionaire.
2. Labourer in a Field, $81m, 2017
Van Gogh'due south Labourer in a Field (September 1889), sold for $81m at Christie's, New York, 13 November 2017
Labourer in a Field sold for $81m in 2017. Painted while Van Gogh was living in the asylum outside Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, the limerick was inspired past the view from his modest bedroom. A ploughman is at piece of work, set below ane of the creative person'south powerful suns. Like almost Van Goghs that come up onto the market, this landscape sold to an anonymous buyer.
3. Self-portrait without a Beard, $72m, 1998
Van Gogh'south Self-portrait without a Bristles, (September 1889), sold for $72m at Christie's, New York, xix Nov 1998
Self-portrait without a Bristles soared to $72m when it was auctioned back in 1998. Van Gogh'southward self-portraits are highly prized and only a handful remain in individual easily. This one was especially personal for Vincent, since he painted it in the asylum at Saint-Rémy-de-Provence every bit a gift to his mother for her 70th birthday. The Courtauld Gallery tried to infringe Self-portrait without a Bristles for its current Van Gogh exhibition, just information technology proved elusive and remains hidden away in an anonymous European collection.
4. Wooden Cabins among the Olive Trees and Cypresses, $71m, 2021
Van Gogh's Wooden Cabins among the Olive Trees and Cypresses (October 1889), sold for $71m at Christie's, New York, xi Nov 2021
Wooden Cabins amongst the Olive Copse and Cypresses is one of the almost recent Van Gogh sales, going for $71m last Nov. A striking and niggling known landscape painting, information technology was done in the countryside outside the asylum. Although the buyer was bearding, we understand that the painting went to Hugo Nathan, of the London art advisors Beaumont Nathan, for a private client.
5. The Avenue of Les Alyscamps,$66m, 2015
Van Gogh'due south The Avenue of Les Alyscamps (November 1888), sold for $66m at Sotheby's, New York, v May 2015
The Avenue of Les Alyscamps was painted in Arles, a few days afterward the arrival of Van Gogh's friend Paul Gauguin, who also painted the scene close by. In 2003 the landscape had sold at Christie's for $12m, but when it returned to auction in 2015 an bearding buyer paid $66m—more v times every bit much. Van Gogh'due south prices are nearly always on the rise.
vi. Poppies and Daisies, $62m, 2014
Van Gogh's Poppies and Daisies (June 1890), sold for $62m at Sotheby'due south, New York, four November 2014
Poppies and Daisies is a dramatic and colourful withal life, completed just a few weeks before the artist's death in Auvers-sur-Oise. It sold for $62m, going to the Chinese entertainment visitor owner Wang Zhongjun.
Wang is also an amateur artist who enjoys painting bloom still lifes. Later the auction he commented that the final sum was "slightly lower than I expected". Wang's purchase is an indication of how the Van Gogh market place has shifted dramatically in the past few years—from North America and Europe to Due east Asia (China, Hong Kong and Korea).
seven. Landscape under Stormy Sky,$54m, 2015
Van Gogh's Landscape under Stormy Sky (April 1889), sold for $54m at Sotheby's, New York, five November 2015
Landscape under Stormy Sky was painted in Arles after Van Gogh had mutilated his ear and just a few weeks earlier his departure for the asylum. The meadow is full of springtime flowers with a strolling couple on the left side, set nether a dramatic heaven. The picture fetched $54m in 2015.
viii. Irises, $54m, 1987
Van Gogh'south Irises (May 1889), sold for $54m at Sotheby's, New York, eleven Nov 1987 Credit: J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles
Irises, which was probably the first painting done by Van Gogh at the aviary, has had an unusually chequered recent history. In 1987 it sold at Sotheby's for $54m, going to the Australian businessman Alan Bond. Simply he faced fiscal issues and was unable to pay, and then buying remained with the auction firm. In 1990 Sotheby's then sold the Van Gogh to the J. Paul Getty Museum in California in a individual bargain. Although the cost paid by the museum has never been disclosed, information technology was probably around the sale sum. It is now among the highlights of the Getty's collection.
9. Young Man with a Cornflower, $47m, 2021
Van Gogh's Swain with a Cornflower (June 1890), sold for $47m at Christie's, New York, 11 November 2021
Boyfriend with a Cornflower, painted in Auvers-sur-Oise, was a source of great surprise last November, when information technology sailed past its estimate of $5m-$7m, eventually reaching $47m. An unusually expressionistic work, it was painted in the last weeks of Van Gogh'south life in Auvers-sur-Oise. The identity of the buyer has not been revealed, but at that place was considerable interest from Far Eastern collectors.
10. Sunflowers, $40m, 1987
Van Gogh's Sunflowers (January 1889), sold for £24m ($40m) at Christie'due south, London, xxx March 1987
Merely scraping into the top x, Sunflowers sold in 1987, when the blast in art prices was only beginning. It is ane of 7 nonetheless lifes of sunflowers that Van Gogh painted in Arles. This one is his ain copy of the original version with a yellow background that is now at London's National Gallery.
When it came up at Christie's, the £24m ($40m) paid was three times more than than any artwork had ever fetched at auction (with inflation information technology would now be equivalent to just over $100m). Information technology was also the beginning time the record price had been paid for a Modern picture show, rather than an Old Master. The buyer was the Tokyo-based Yasuda insurance company. The firm was later taken over by the visitor Sompo and the Van Gogh is now the star attraction at the Sompo Museum of Art.
Sunflowers has proved to exist an astonishing investment. If information technology ever came onto the marketplace over again, it would be worth several hundred million dollars.
Breaking the height x
Two other Van Goghs accept since matched the Sunflowers 1987 price, too fetching $40m: 50'Arlésienne, Madame Ginoux (February 1890) sold on ii May 2006 and Trees in the Garden of the Asylum (October 1889) on 13 May 2019 (both at Christie'due south, New York).
Several Van Goghs take been sold privately for prices in the aforementioned range as those that went to sale. These include Portrait of Joseph Roulin (Jan 1889), acquired by New York'southward Museum of Modern Art in 1989; a version of Wheatfield with Cypresses (June 1889), acquired in 1993 past New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art; and Girl against a Background of Wheat (June 1890), bought by casino boss Steve Wynn in 1999 and now owned past hedge fund manager Steven Cohen.
Interestingly, all of the works covered in our survey were painted in the terminal two years or then of Van Gogh'southward life, when he was working in Provence or the village of Auvers-sur-Oise. It is these late works that fetch the mega sums. And all except Sunflowers were sold in New York, an indication that the main demand has until recently come from America, rather than Europe.
A newcomer may shortly push its way into the summit ten. On 12 May, Christie'south, New York is to offering Fields almost the Alpilles (Champs près des Alpilles) (November 1889), a view painted on the outskirts of Saint-Rémy-de-Provence. Although no formal estimate has been published, the sale firm expects it to make effectually $45m. Christie'due south recently toured the painting to Taipei and Hong Kong, an indication of growing East Asian involvement.
Fields near the Alpilles has an illustrious provenance, which may well add interest for potential buyers: it was owned past the couturier Yves Saint Laurent and his partner Pierre Bergé.
Van Gogh's Fields most the Alpilles (Champs près des Alpilles) (November 1889), coming up at Christie's, New York on 12 MayCredit: Christie's
Martin Bailey is the writer of Van Gogh's Finale: Auvers and the Artist's Ascent to Fame (Frances Lincoln, 2021, bachelor in the UK and U.s. ). He is a leading Van Gogh specialist and investigative reporter for The Fine art Paper. Bailey has curated Van Gogh exhibitions at the Barbican Fine art Gallery and Compton Verney/National Gallery of Scotland. He was a co-curator of Tate Britain's The EY Exhibition: Van Gogh and Britain (27 March-xi Baronial 2019).
Martin Bailey'due south recent Van Gogh books
Bailey has written a number of other bestselling books, including The Sunflowers Are Mine: the Story of Van Gogh's Masterpiece (Frances Lincoln 2013, bachelor in the Uk and U.s. ), Studio of the South: Van Gogh in Provence(Frances Lincoln 2016, available in the UK and Us ) and Starry Dark: Van Gogh at the Aviary (White Lion Publishing 2018, available in the Great britain and US ). Bailey's Living with Vincent van Gogh: the Homes and Landscapes that Shaped the Creative person (White King of beasts Publishing 2019, available in the UK and US ) provides an overview of the creative person's life. The Illustrated Provence Messages of Van Gogh has been reissued (Batsford 2021, bachelor in the United kingdom of great britain and northern ireland and US ).
• To contact Martin Bailey, delight e-mail: vangogh@theartnewspaper.com. Please note that he does not undertake authentications.
Read more from Martin's Adventures with Van Gogh webloghere.
Source: https://www.theartnewspaper.com/2022/04/29/the-ten-most-expensive-van-gogh-paintings
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