THE MOST EXPENSIVE PAINTINGS FOR THE YEAR 2008

According to ArtPrice, the 50 most expensive sales in public auctions in 2008 were :

1 BACON Francis $ 77,000,000: «Triptych» (1976) 14 May (Sotheby’s New York)
2 MONET Claude £ 36,500,000: Le bassin aux nymphéas (1919) 24 June (Christie’s London)
3 MALEVICH Kasimir Sevrinovitch $ 53,500,000: Suprematisch Composition (1919) 03 Nov. (Sotheby’s Ndew York)
4 BACON Francis £ 23,500,000: «Untitled» (1974/77) 06 Feb. (Christie’s London)
5 ROTHKO Mark $ 45,000,000: «No.15» (1952) 13 May (Christie’s New York)
6 MONET Claude $ 37,000,000: Le Pont du chemin de fer à Argenteuil (1873) 06 May (Christie’s New York)
7 BACON Francis £ 17,800,000: «Study of Nude with Figure in a Mirror» (1969) 27 Feb. (Sotheby’s London)
8 LÉGER Fernand $ 35,000,000: «La Femme en Bleu» (1912/13) 07 May (Sotheby’s New York)
9 MUNCH Edvard $ 34,000,000: Vampire (1894) 03 Nov. (Sotheby’s New York)
10 DEGAS Edgar $ 33,000,000: Danseuse au repos (c.1879) 03 Nov. (Sotheby’s New York)
11 BACON Francis £ 15,400,000: Studies for Self-Portrait (1975) 30 June (Christie’s London)

12 FREUD Lucian $ 30,000,000: Benefits Supervisor Sleeping (1995) 13 May (Christie’s New York)
13 WARHOL Andy $ 29,000,000: Double Marlon (1966) 13 May (Christie’s New York)
14 MUNCH Edvard $ 27,500,000: Girls on a Bridge (1902) 07 May (Sotheby’s New York)

15 SEVERINI Gino £ 13,420,000: «Danseuse» (1915) 25 June (Sotheby’s London)
16 BACON Francis $ 25,000,000: «Three Studies for Self-Portrait» (1976) 13 May (Christie’s New York)
17 GIACOMETTI Alberto $ 24,500,000: Grande femme debout II (1959/60) 06 May (Christie’s New York)
18 BACON Francis £ 12,270,000: «Head of George Dyer» 01 July (Sotheby’s London)
19 DEGAS Edgar £ 12,000,000: Danseuses à la barre (c.1880) 24 June (Christie’s London)
20 KOONS Jeff £ 11,500,000: Balloon Flower (Magenta) (1995/2000) 30 June (Christie’s London)
21 WATTEAU Jean Antoine £ 11,000,000: La surprise: A Couple embracing while a figure dressed as Mezzetin Tune 08 July (Christie’s London)
22 MARC Franz £ 11,000,000: Weidende Pferde III (1910) 05 Feb. (Sotheby’s London)
23 KLEIN Yves $ 21,000,000: MG 9 (c.1962) 14 May (Sotheby’s New York)
24 FREUD Lucian £ 10,500,000: Naked Portrait with Reflection (1980) 30 June (Christie’s London)
25 WARHOL Andy £ 10,200,000: Self-portraits (1986) 27 Feb. (Sotheby’s London)
26 MATISSE Henri $ 20,000,000: Portrait au manteau bleu (1935) 06 May (Christie’s New York)
27 KLEIN Yves $ 19,000,000: Archisponge (RE 11) (1960) 11 Nov. (Sotheby’s New York)
28 GRIS Juan $ 18,500,000: Livre, pipe et verres (1915) 06 Nov. (Christie’s New York)
29 FONTANA Lucio £ 9,200,000: «Concetto Spaziale, la fine di Dio» 27 Feb. (Sotheby’s London)
30 PICASSO Pablo $ 17,100,000: La grue (c.1951/52) 07 May (Sotheby’s New York)

31 RODIN Auguste $ 16,900,000: Eve, grand modèle-version sans rocher (1881) 06 May (Christie’s New York)
32 GIACOMETTI Alberto £ 8,420,000: Trois hommes qui marchent I (1948) 25 June (Sotheby’s London)
33 JAWLENSKY von Alexej £ 8,400,000: Schokko (c.1910) 05 Feb. (Sotheby’s London)
34 HIRST Damien £ 9,200,000: The Golden Calf (2008) 15 Sept. (Sotheby’s London)
35 PICASSO Pablo $ 16,000,000: Deux personnages (Marie-Thérèse et sa soeur lisant) (1934) 06 Nov. (Christie’s New York)
36 MORAN Thomas $ 15,800,000: Green River of Wyoming (1878) 21 May (Christie’s New York)
37 KLEIN Yves $ 15,500,000: IKB 1 (1960) 14 May (Sotheby’s New York) 38 PICASSO Pablo $ 15,500,000: Le baiser (1969) 07 May (Sotheby’s New York)
39 HIRST Damien £ 8,500,000: The Kingdom (2008) 15 Sept. (Sotheby’s London)
40 MIRO Joan $ 15,200,000: La caresse des étoiles (1938) 06 May (Christie’s New York)
41 KANDINSKY Wassily $ 15,000,000: Studie zu Improvisation 3 (1909) 06 Nov. (Christie’s New York)
42 RICHTER Gerhard £ 7,100,000: Kerze (1983) 27 Feb. (Sotheby’s London)
43 FONTANA Lucio £ 8,000,000: Concetto Spaziale, la fin di dio (1963) 19 Oct. (Christie’s London)
44 PICASSO Pablo £ 7,020,000: Tête de femme (1939) 25 June (Sotheby’s London)
45 RICHTER Gerhard $ 13,500,000: Abstraktes Bild (1990) 14 May (Sotheby’s New York)
46 MURAKAMI Takashi $ 13,500,000 : My Lonesome Cowboy (1998) 14 May (Sotheby’s New York)
47 MONET Claude £ 6,820,000: La plage à Trouville (1870) 25 June (Sotheby’s London)
48 RICHTER Gerhard $ 13,200,000: Abstraktes Bild (710) (1989) 12 Nov. (Christie’s New York)
49 PICASSO Pablo £ 6,600,000: Tête de femme (1938) 05 Feb. (Sotheby’s London)
50 RENOIR Auguste £ 6,600,000: La loge ou L’avant-scène (1874) 05 Feb. (Sotheby’s London)

THE ART MARKET LEADERS 2008

According to Artprice, the Top 10 ranking art market heavyweights in 2008 were :
1 – Pablo PICASSO (1881-1973) with a total of sales of $262m for 1,764 Sold Lots at public auctions or an average value per sale of 148,000 dollars
2 – Francis BACON (1909-1992) with a total of sales of $256m for 100 Sold Lots or an average value per sale of $ 2.56 million
3 – Andy WARHOL (1928-1987) with a total of sales of $236m for 1,164 Sold Lots or an average value of $ 202,000

4 – Damien HIRST (1965) with a total of sales of $230m for 445 Sold Lots or an average value of $ 516,000
5 – Claude MONET (1840-1926) with global sales of $174m for 25 Sold Lots or an average value of $ 6.96 million
6 – Alberto GIACOMETTI (1901-1966) with global sales of $132m for 111 Sold Lots or an average value of $1.18 million
7 – Gerhard RICHTER (1932) with global sales of $122m for 166 Sold Lots with an average value of $ 734,000
8 – Edgar DEGAS (1834-1917) with global sales of $111m for 81 Sold Lots with an average value of $ 1.3 million
9 – Lucio FONTANA (1899-1968) with global sales of $95m for 227 Sold Lots with an average value of $ 418,000
10 – Yves KLEIN (1928-1962) wtih global sales of $91m for 59 Sold Lots with an average value of $ 1.54 million