Other expensive art
The most expensive art to produce
1. Damien Hirst's "For the Love of God"
Damien Hirst's "For the Love of God" is a platinum cast of a human skull encrusted with 8,601 diamonds, including a large pear-shaped pink diamond on the forehead. This artwork cost between $20-30 million to produce, primarily due to the extensive use of high-quality diamonds and the intricate craftsmanship required to create the platinum cast.
2. Jeff Koons' "Balloon Dog" Series
Jeff Koons' "Balloon Dog" series features large-scale sculptures made from high-chromium stainless steel with mirror-finish surfaces, resembling balloon animals. Each sculpture in the series costs approximately $25 million to produce. The high cost is attributed to the advanced materials used, meticulous polishing to achieve the mirror finish, and the sculptures' large size and intricate design.
3. Christo and Jeanne-Claude's "The Gates"
Christo and Jeanne-Claude's "The Gates" was a temporary installation in Central Park, New York, consisting of 7,503 gates with free-flowing saffron-colored fabric. The project, which took over two decades to plan and execute, cost around $21 million. The high production cost includes materials, logistics, labor, and extensive planning. Remarkably, the entire project was self-financed by the artists through the sale of preparatory studies and models.
4. Christo and Jeanne-Claude's "The Floating Piers"
Another ambitious project by Christo and Jeanne-Claude, "The Floating Piers," was an installation on Italy’s Lake Iseo featuring 3 kilometers of floating walkways covered in bright yellow fabric. This project cost approximately $17 million. The cost includes constructing floating platforms, fabric, engineering, logistics, and labor. Like "The Gates," it was self-financed by the artists.
5. Leonardo da Vinci's "The Last Supper" Restoration
The restoration of Leonardo da Vinci's mural, "The Last Supper," located in the Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie in Milan, is considered one of the most expensive art conservation projects. The restoration, which spanned 21 years from 1978 to 1999, cost millions of dollars, although exact figures are often debated. The high cost was due to advanced conservation techniques, meticulous cleaning, and stabilization of the painting, requiring significant financial investment.
Most expensive artworks ever sold
1. Leonardo da Vinci's "Salvator Mundi"
- Price: $450.3 million
- Year: 2017
- Place: Christie's, New York
2. Pablo Picasso's "Les Femmes d'Alger (Version O)"
- Price: $179.4 million
- Year: 2015
- Place: Christie's, New York
3. Amedeo Modigliani's "Nu couché"
- Price: $170.4 million
- Year: 2015
- Place: Christie's, New York
4. Gustav Klimt's "Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I"
- Price: $135 million
- Year: 2006
- Place: Private sale, New York
5. Jackson Pollock's "Number 17A"
- Price: $200 million
- Year: 2016
- Place: Private sale, United States