The highest known price paid for an artwork by a living artist was for

Jasper Johns Jasper Johns (born May 15, 1930) is an American painter, sculptor, and printmaker whose work is associated with abstract expressionism, Neo-Dada, and pop art. He is well known for his depictions of the American flag and other US-related top ...

's 1958 painting ''

Flag A flag is a piece of fabric (most often rectangular or quadrilateral) with a distinctive design and colours. It is used as a symbol, a signalling device, or for decoration. The term ''flag'' is also used to refer to the graphic design empl ...

''. Its 2010 private sale price was estimated to be about US$110 million ($ million in dollars).

All-time

This is a list of highest prices ever paid—at auction or private sale—for an artwork by an artist living at time of sale.

Progressive auction sales records

This is a list of progressive records of the highest price ever paid at auction for the work of an artist who was living at time of sale. As a progressive record listing, it only lists auctions records that topple the previous best. The current record price is US$91 million for

Jeff Koons Jeffrey Lynn Koons (; born January 21, 1955) is an American artist recognized for his work dealing with popular culture and his sculptures depicting everyday objects, including balloon animals produced in stainless steel with mirror- finish su ...

's 1986 sculpture, ''

Rabbit Rabbits, also known as bunnies or bunny rabbits, are small mammals in the family Leporidae (which also contains the hares) of the order Lagomorpha (which also contains the pikas). ''Oryctolagus cuniculus'' includes the European rabbit speci ...

'', set in 2019. The current record price for a painting is $90 million for

David Hockney David Hockney (born 9 July 1937) is an English painter, draftsman, printmaker, stage designer, and photographer. As an important contributor to the pop art movement of the 1960s, he is considered one of the most influential British artists o ...

's 1972 ''

Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures) ''Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures)'' is a large acrylic-on-canvas pop art painting by British artist David Hockney, completed in May 1972. It measures , and depicts two figures: one swimming underwater and one clothed male figure ...

'', set the prior year.

Private sales

' 1958 ''

'' painting was sold by

Steven A. Cohen Steven A. Cohen (born June 11, 1956) is an American hedge fund manager and owner of the New York Mets of Major League Baseball since September 14, 2020, owning roughly 97.2% of the team. He is the founder of hedge fund Point72 Asset Manageme ...

to Jean-Christophe Castelli for ca $110 million in 2010 ($ million in dollars). * Privately, Damien Hirst's ''

For the Love of God ''For the Love of God'' is a sculpture by artist Damien Hirst produced in 2007. It consists of a platinum cast of an 18th-century human skull encrusted with 8,601 flawless diamonds, including a pear-shaped pink diamond located in the forehead tha ...

'' (2007), composed of diamond and platinum, sold to a consortium including the artist in August 2007 for $100 million.($ million in dollars) * Another Jasper Johns painting, ''False Start'' (1959), was sold by

Kenneth C. Griffin Kenneth Cordele Griffin (born October 15, 1968) is an American hedge fund manager, entrepreneur and investor. He is the founder, chief executive officer, co-chief investment officer, and 80% owner of Citadel LLC, a multinational hedge fund. He ...

David Geffen David Lawrence Geffen (born February 21, 1943) is an American business magnate, producer and film studio executive. He co-created Asylum Records in 1971 with Elliot Roberts, Geffen Records in 1980, DGC Records in 1990, and DreamWorks SKG in 199 ...

on October 12, 2006, for a then record $80 million.($ million in dollars) * The

Whitney Museum of American Art The Whitney Museum of American Art, known informally as "The Whitney", is an art museum in the Meatpacking District and West Village neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1930 by Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney (1875–1942), ...

privately purchased Jasper Johns's ''

Three Flags ''Three Flags'' is a 1958 painting by American artist Jasper Johns. The work comprises three canvases painted with hot wax. The three canvases form a tiered arrangement, with each canvas approximately 25% smaller than the one below, thereby cre ...

'' in 1980 for $1 million ($ million in dollars), then a record price for a living artist. * In 1967, citizens of Basel, Switzerland, raised nearly $2 million to buy two Picasso paintings for their

Kunstmuseum Basel The Kunstmuseum Basel houses the oldest public art collection in the world and is generally considered to be the most important museum of art in Switzerland. It is listed as a heritage site of national significance. Its lineage extends back to t ...

.LIFE Dec 27, 1968, p. 120
"Picasso's top price—in fact, the top price in history for the work of a living artist—was set in Basel, Switzerland, where citizens raised $1,950,000 to buy ''Two Brothers'', 1905, and ''Seated Harlequin'', 1923, for their museum." * In 1890, , owner of the Grands Magasins du Louvre department store, purchased

Ernest Meissonier Jean-Louis-Ernest Meissonier (; 21 February 181531 January 1891) was a French Classicist painter and sculptor famous for his depictions of Napoleon, his armies and military themes. He documented sieges and manoeuvres and was the teacher of Éd ...

's ''1814 The Campaign of France'' from a banker for 850,000 Fr (US$162,000 in 1890; equivalent to $ million in ), the highest price for a painting by an artist alive or dead.

References

{{Portal bar, Visual arts living artists Contemporary art Auction-related lists Record progressions

All-time

Progressive auction sales records

Private sales

See also

References