Buzz
A million dollars can feel like an unfathomable sum for most of us, particularly when it’s spent on just one item. Yet, the paintings featured here are valued at much higher amounts, bought by collectors at auction, in some cases for astronomical sums.
Shockingly, these multi-million-dollar artworks, many of which are from lesser-known artists, will have most people questioning why anyone would pay such exorbitant amounts for these pieces of—well, art.
Art, of course, is highly subjective, and individual tastes can vary greatly. Even so, most of us will be left scratching our heads, wondering how these paintings ever fetched such high prices. What do you think: are any of these multi-million-dollar works truly worth the price collectors paid to own them?
10. Untitled by Robert Ryman
Depending on how one views it, some of Robert Ryman's (1930-2019) minimalist works might resemble either patches of stucco applied to a rectangular frame or a square-shaped pastry, glazed in white and speckled with green mold.
It seems that Ryman was so taken with this style that he recreated it multiple times, swapping colors to achieve the 'moldy' effect he started exploring in 1953 as a young artist using oil on canvas board. As Suzanne Hudson highlights, Ryman became 'known for producing scores of white squares,' though not all of them were purely white, as he occasionally experimented with color.
There was a clear reason behind the repetition of these mainly white squares. Ryman was not focused on creating representational art. As Hudson explains, 'He was not interested in composing a picture,' but rather in understanding the process. He wanted to explore the properties of paint, and also sought to minimize the gap between the painting and the wall. In one experiment, he even painted directly onto the wall. Despite being an innovative painter and a conceptual artist, Ryman's works often came back to his original exploration with painted squares, whether white or not.
While some may view his obsession with the form skeptically, it's undeniable that Ryman's 'white squares' command impressive sums from collectors, with one paying $15 million for one of these symmetrical rectangles, even though it had no title—unless you count 'Untitled.'
9. Point by Brice Marden
Brice Marden, an American artist born in 1938 and a minimalist in his own right, also explored a series of square paintings, showing a similar obsession to Ryman's with his white squares. As Roberta Smith observes in her review of Marden’s work, 'Throughout the 1970’s Marden stuck to his one-canvas/one-color formula with monkish devotion.'
However, in contrast to Ryman’s equal-sided squares, Marden’s rectangles have uneven sides. Typically, the top and bottom edges are twice the length of the right and left edges. These rectangles are often divided into thirds, with each section either in a different color, as seen in For Pearl (1970), or in varying shades of the same color, as in Point (1969). It's particularly striking that one of Marden’s earlier pieces, Point, was sold for more than $6 million at auction!
8. Concerro Spazale, Atteste by Lucio Fontana
Lucio Fontana’s Concerro Spizale (Spatial Concept) consists of twelve diagonal lines, some fine and light, others thicker and darker, looking more like slashes than deliberate brush strokes. This piece is part of a series of similar monochrome works by the Argentine-Italian artist. Fontana described the series as 'an art for the Space Age,' and indeed, it evokes a futuristic feel—almost like something George and Jane Jetson would hang in their Las Vegas-style home or like the kind of artwork Mr. Spock might frame in the quarters of the starship Enterprise.
Fontana’s 'Space Age' art emerged from an accident. In 1948, during a moment of anger, the artist destroyed one of his paintings by piercing its canvas. This act of destruction led to a new artistic concept in which Fontana didn’t use traditional trompe l’oeil techniques to create depth. Instead, he punctured and tore the canvas itself, drawing attention to the space before and behind the surface. His Concerro Spizale is categorized into two types: Bucchi, where holes in the canvas create effects, and Tagli, where slashes made with a knife serve the same purpose.
The founder of Spatialism, with his groundbreaking approach, continues to command impressive sums at auctions. For example, one of his pieces from the Concerro Spizale series fetched an astonishing $12.78 million at a Sotheby’s sale!
7. Black Fire I (1961) by Barnett Newman
In the early stages of his career, Barnett Newman (1905-1970), an American artist, delved into surrealism and used what he called 'zips'—narrow vertical lines—to divide the colored sections of his canvases. Newman’s reflections on the spiritual influences behind his work offer insight into the titles of several of his early pieces, such as Adam and Eve, Uriel, Abraham, and his Stations of the Cross series. He once posed the question: 'What is the explanation of the seemingly insane drive of man to be painter and poet,' if not as an act of defiance against man’s fall, a call to return to the Garden of Eden? For the artists are the first men.'
Newman was also drawn to creating art that didn’t depend on depicting human figures or landscapes. He sought to break away from 'the European tradition of formal pictorial arrangement.' His solution was to avoid a clear 'figure' in the artwork, instead presenting a balanced interplay between background and foreground. In Black Fire I (1961), the canvas is divided down the middle: the left side is solid black, and the right side is a soft beige. A thin vertical black line, positioned just off-center, divides the beige area, giving the impression that both colors are encroaching upon one another, battling for dominance over the canvas.
In May 2014, Black Fire I sold for an impressive $84.2 million at a Christie’s auction, far surpassing the auction house’s estimate by over $30 million!
6. Suprematist Composition (1916) by Kazimir Malevich
Kazimir Malevich’s Suprematist Composition (1916), a piece by the Soviet avant-garde artist (1879-1935), captivates viewers with its striking design, featuring vibrant hues and a diagonal layout where rectangular shapes seem to float, suspended in space.
Part of the Suprematist Composition series, Malevich's 1916 painting of the same name, like much of his work, demonstrates his obsession with geometric shapes and precision. This focus 'encouraged his followers to explore Suprematist perspectives themselves,' as John Milner writes in Kazimir Malevich and the Art of Geometry. One of Malevich's followers even restricted himself to using only a compass and ruler to create his drawings and paintings. Despite his own love for geometry, Malevich preferred to 'let [his forms] fly.'
Malevich's innovative style captivated more than just his followers. Suprematist Composition (1916) sold for an impressive $85.8 million at a Sotheby’s auction!
5. Untitled by Jean-Michel Basquiat
One of Jean-Michel Basquiat’s untitled works showcases a distorted black skull, its facial features outlined in white, floating against a blue backdrop, with white shapes that vaguely resemble buildings. The painting mirrors the look of street graffiti, something a passerby might encounter in any urban setting worldwide. It even bears a 'tag,' or graffiti artist’s signature, 'AG,' in the lower-left corner of the canvas.
The intended meaning of the painting is hard to decipher. The images visible through the skull’s forehead, inside its mouth, and through what appears to be a window in one of the ambiguous building-like shapes might offer some clues, but they are just shapes, not representations of objects or human figures. This ambiguity may very well be the artist's deliberate choice.
It’s no coincidence that the painting bears a resemblance to graffiti; Jean-Michel Basquiat (1960-1988) was a graffiti artist in New York City, and he painted this work not with oils but with spray paint. While the skull may not be universally appreciated, Basquiat’s renowned piece has earned admiration from collectors—selling for over $110.5 million in 2017!
4. Flag (1954–1955) by Jasper Johns
Flag aptly represents the painting of the 48-star American flag by American abstract expressionist Jasper Johns (1930- ). Johns was inspired by a dream he had the night before he began creating this piece, following his recent discharge from the military. According to Carolyn Lanchner, a curator at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the work is often compared to René Magritte’s Belgian surrealist painting Ceci n’est pas une pipe (This is not a pipe).
Johns’s painting contrasts sharply with Magritte’s: while the surrealist's work explores the line between reality and illusion, Johns’ piece effectively blurs this distinction. His Flag left an indelible mark on the art world.
In 2010, more than fifty years after its creation, Flag made another significant impact when it was sold privately for a staggering estimated price of $100 million!
3. Interchange (1955) by William de Kooning
William de Kooning, a pioneer of American abstract expressionism, takes the top spot on our list. His 1955 painting, Interchange, sold for a record amount, surpassing all previous sales until September 2015. The seller was the David Geffen Foundation, and the buyer, American hedge fund manager Kenneth G. Griffin. As of today, its price still holds the second-highest record, just behind Leonardo da Vinci's Salvator Mundi, which fetched $450.3 million in November 2017.
The abstract nature of de Kooning's work often leaves viewers scratching their heads. Resembling a chaotic assortment of colors and forms, the piece can be dizzying at first glance. However, a closer look reveals deeper meaning. Bart Barnes’s 1997 article in The New York Times explains that de Kooning's art often shifted between abstraction and representation. He even reveals that the central ‘fleshy pink mass’ is interpreted as a seated woman.
Now that the mystery has been unraveled, let's move on to a new one. Just how much did Griffin spend to acquire Interchange? (Drum roll, please.) The answer is an eye-watering $300 million!
2. No. 6 (Violet, Green and Red) (1951) by Mark Rothko
In 1951, American abstract painter Mark Rothko (1903-1970) created No. 6 (Violet, Green and Red), a piece showcasing horizontal stripes of violet, green, and red—though the red is more accurately described as red-orange. But there's more to this painting than its surface appearance. It fetched a hefty $184 million and is part of the 'Bouvier Affair,' an ongoing legal battle involving Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev and his art dealer, Yves Bouvier.
The Bouvier Affair is a tangled web of legal disputes across multiple countries, centered around claims that Bouvier scammed Rybolovlev out of vast sums by artificially inflating prices or fabricating documents to manipulate the market for artworks by not just Rothko, but also figures like Pablo Picasso, Amedeo Modigliani, Paul Gauguin, Edgar Degas, and even Leonardo da Vinci. The end result was that these masterpieces were sold for far more than their actual market value.
1. Masterpiece by Roy Lichtenstein
Roy Lichtenstein's Masterpiece (1962), an iconic piece of American pop art, mimics a comic book panel with a blonde woman standing next to the dark-haired man who painted the work they're admiring. Their pale skin tones are created using the Ben-Day dot technique typical of comic art. The panel includes a speech bubble where the woman exclaims, 'Why, Brad darling, this painting is a masterpiece! My, soon you’ll have all of New York clamoring for your work!'
The Art Institute of Chicago explains that Lichtenstein's Masterpiece was inspired by a real comic book panel. He modified both the visual and textual elements, changing the setting from a car, where the couple had an awkward conversation, to an art gallery where the woman praises the artist. In the original comic panel, she says, 'But someday this bitterness will pass.' The alteration of the dialogue, according to the Art Institute, highlights Lichtenstein's playful take on his rising fame in the art world.
The sale of Masterpiece must have left Lichtenstein smiling: Agnes Gund, former president of the Museum of Modern Art, sold the painting for a staggering $165 million!
