Description: Discover the fascinating legacy of Van Gogh’s paintings, including prices, values, and the story behind his works with the most staggering price tags, like Starry Night.
Unveiling Vincent Van Gogh’s Most Expensive Paintings
How much does Starry Night cost? Few people grown up in a Western school have never heard the glorious mark left by the world-shaking artist that was Vincent Van Gogh. This eccentric yet brilliant painter from the Netherlands inhabited a penury and vended his paintings to cover for food & medical bills.
Interestingly, these paintings, which no one initially wanted, now are highly coveted amidst art aficionados, commanding boatloads of cash.
The legend’s posthumous influence culminating as an 800-plus item collection made him go down in history as a contender for G.O.A.T. The unreal degree to which these works’ prices shatter auction records is dumbfounding, yet since the great’s passing, people still marvel at what Starry Night’s price wound up as.
It comes as a surprise to some that The Portrait of Dr. Gachet at $209M (inflation-adjusted) commanded the most as a Van Gogh painting. A procurer also snatched up Orchard with Cypress, forking over a massive $117M, raising even further questions about what makes such artistic treasures of original Van Gogh Van Gogh’s paintings, considering such prices.
Here: How much did Starry Night sell for? We investigate the Starry Night painting price & numerous Van Gogh painting prices below.
Van Gogh’s Most Expensive Painting
Not a single contemporary Van Gogh painting even approaches Portrait of Dr. Gachet’s valuation. Let’s dive into the tale.
Hailing from 1890, some months prior to the man’s passing, this Van Gogh most expensive painting featured the treating doctor during a moment of despair. Though some assert Van Gogh mentally imagined himself as experiencing such a feeling then, the item expresses a vulnerability often concealed from public exposure.
While honest emotions are projected via his energetic brush strokes, the production’s valuation is a center of attraction drawing countless people. Its buyer acquired it when it had turned a full 100 years old, at $82.5M. That painting has rocked by more than 40,000 times its original value. God only knows how much Starry Night is worth.
The old master would have lived a more opulent or even aristocratic lifestyle if he had just 1% of that. Nevertheless, that imprint that the acquisition of the iconic masterpiece had on successive paintings heading into the modern era was significantly profound.
Auction records
Van Gogh art collectors tripped over each other paying premiums to procure a plethora of masterpieces. Take for instance Laboureur dans un Champ in 2017 ($81M). It came very near setting a Van Gogh painting auction record.
Now onto the top 10 most expensive Van Gogh paintings. That breathtaking Coin de Jardin avec Papillons raked in $76M, parted with at the 2018 Rockefeller familial bids. These Van Gogh painting prices set a trend, demonstrating a whole wave of ardent bidders & enthusiasts clamoring to gain artworks featuring a traceable, verifiable backstory.
Nevertheless, the Van Gogh most expensive painting would later end up vacating the art scene. Yet it only heightened people’s fascination, raising even further questions.
After industrialist Ryoei Saito procured Portrait of Dr. Gachet in 1990, rumors say he intended it to join him on his passing for cremation. Again, some say it’s sitting in a Swiss vault. However, these remain just speculations which consequently indirectly bolster original Van Gogh paintings prices.
Still, we can glean some insight from a late masterpiece, representing both aesthetics & adeptness in depicting human psychology alongside melancholy. Considering additionally that his pieces’ century-long journeys are traceable, Van Gogh paintings value would all the more astronomically appreciate.
The Value of Van Gogh’s Paintings
Van Gogh paintings value increased in value so much that no asset ever managed to match such massive resonance. But that begs the question. How could a creation worth almost nothing manage to garner such unprecedented value over these years? And how much did Starry Night sell for? We will outline the major factors responsible for that surge in value.
Insights into what makes his art so valuable
One major reason that his collections blossomed to be amidst the most valuable paintings owes to their rarity. Van Gogh’s paintings are 95% held in museums too.
Furthermore, concerning upwards of 850 famous Van Gogh paintings, 200 hang down the walls of Amsterdam’s Van Gogh Museum. Countless pieces are scattered worldwide, embellishing the likes of the Parisian Musée d’Orsay and NYC’s MoMA.Thus the opportunity to snatch up those other 5% of Van Gogh paintings is during infrequent sales events. When they are posted in auctioning, his works are usually less than 1% of his pieces, further driving sales bids up.
Case in point: Self-Portrait Without Beard. This one has ascended into being amidst Van Gogh’s most expensive paintings, one among three clean-shaven Van Gogh paintings. This rocketed demand very high, thus allowing a premium $70M purchase in 1998.
This rarity directly impacts the bounty Van Gogh paintings can fetch, particularly among works desirable periods of his life. Since 2000, under 30 Van Gogh oil paintings appeared at major bidding events—while such scarcity drives impressionist artwork prices ever higher.
Techniques
Though necessity forged Van Gogh’s painting technique, those innovations he birthed gave his masterpieces a special place in admirers’ hearts. His impasto style, which generously adds thick paint layers on canvases, gives the image a 3D feel. His style proved pivotal in Western art history, giving art community enthusiasts a lens through which to view a moment of yesteryear. However, specific features typify the most expensive Van Gogh paintings, including
- Textured surface with impasto applications
- Bold, Contrasting application of complementary hues
- Distorting shapes for emotional impact
- Rhythmic brush application
But while these features help in Van Gogh paintings’ value, you’ll have to give him some credit for the economical management of materials. He was compelled to churn out perfect pieces constantly because he could literally not afford to cause mistakes, obligating innovation, forging a brand-new stylistic path.
How much was Starry Night sold for? Nothing. Van Gogh’s most recognizable painting resides permanently in the MoMA of NYC. There is no Starry Night estimated value since the cost of Starry Night has never been exchanged for money (Source).
The Price of Starry Night
Establishing the price of Starry Night has caused great debate. Nevertheless, there remain fascinating points to know about.
Why Starry Night was never for sale
How much does Starry Night cost? What we now know as Van Gogh’s most exalted achievement was once ridiculed as hallucinations. However, if we calculate the value of the Starry Night painting price adjusted for inflation, even the MoMA, which holds it now, couldn’t afford it.
Fortunately for MoMA, they acquired it through Lillie P. Bliss Bequest in 1941, then considered a minor painting not worth displaying.
Though drawn from imagination, it exhibits Van Gogh’s clarity & attentiveness. Unfortunately, Starry Night isn’t purchasable by any individual. MoMA, through its accession policy, ensures that it stays permanently with MoMA. You can only sight-see, similar to going on a pilgrimage.
Comparing the price of Starry Night with other famous works
But one is still tempted to ask how much Starry Night is worth today. If you ask art market experts and Museum directors Starry Night’s painting value, they’ll probably say it’s priceless. However, insurers put a much higher price tag on it, putting Van Gogh’s Starry Night price at $1B, 10 times the most expensive Van Gogh painting.
Ultimately, these just represent guesses, considering no price of Starry Night was ever paid. His brother safeguarded it after his passing instead.
Top 10 Most Expensive Van Gogh Paintings
Now we present the top 10 most expensive Van Gogh paintings.
This most expensive Van Gogh painting exceeded $100M. No Van Gogh Starry Night painting value has been quoted. It’s too valuable (source).
1. Portrait of Dr. Gachet (1890)
This most valuable Van Gogh painting, a melancholic piece of physician Dr. Gachet. Widely believed as his last, right before he passed.
A museum parted with this after a default.
2. Irises
A bidder of $53.9M bought this Saint-Remy floral masterpiece & second-most expensive Van Gogh painting.
Third on the list of Van Gogh most expensive paintings features his face bare (source).
3. Self-Portrait Without a Beard
His beard shaven off, bear-faced & vulnerable. Acquired for $71.5M, way higher than original Van Gogh paintings prices.
Colors of nature in a Van Goh painting (source)
4. Orchard with Cypresses
The work exhibits gorgeous cypresses alongside blossoming fields.
One of the most valuable Van Gogh paintings.
5. Vase avec quinze tournesols
One of Van Gogh’s iconic sunflower series.
$81.3M was one of the highest Van Gogh painting prices (source)
6. Laboureur dans un champ
Van Gogh art collectors purchased this at $81.3M. Here, an agrarian plows in the sun, a homage to his Saint-Rémy asylum.
7. L’Allée des Alyscamps
Gaugin collaborated with Van Gogh. Depicted above is an autumn scenery, now held by an Asian collector who put up 66.3M for it.
8. Wooden Cabins among the Olive Trees and Cypresses
Representation of nature, the heavens, and sunlight’s vibrancy seen through a cabin. An anonymous European bought it.
9. Landscape Under Stormy Sky
Another anonymous person forked over $54M for this at Sotheby’s. This one was created shortly before the old craftsman committed to an asylum and shows two people strolling beneath the stormy skies.
10. Fields Near Les Alpilles
An unnamed gentleman acquired it at $52M. Van Gogh devised numerous pieces glorifying landscapes around an asylum.
Conclusion
Summing up, Van Gogh’s painting value transcends monetary appraisals and market estimations. It all starts with an emotional connection to the art and appreciation of his contributions.
Though the pieces now serve as investment trophies, it’s important to note that they didn’t start out as that. However, rarity, unique art style, and museums collecting these paintings have springboarded them to command millions. That said, works as momentous as Starry Night also remind us that there are those worth more than money.