Money / Wealth

8 Extremely Valuable Pieces of Art Owned by Private Collectors

May 13, 2024

5 min Read

Written by Virginia Anderson

Edited by Joe Evans

Artist- painter working on painting in studio with art supplies around him.

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A beautiful painting, stunning sculpture or other artistic creation can transform a room and be a major talking point for visitors. For wealthy art collectors, art is also a source of monetary value. Some of the most exquisite and valuable art pieces are owned by private collectors all around the world.

Here’s how much they’re worth:

1. Salvator Mundi, Leonardo da Vinci

Last appraisal value: $450.3 million

The Salvator Mundi, thought to have been painted by Leonardo da Vinci somewhere around 1507, depicts Jesus Christ wearing a blue Renaissance dress while making the sign of the cross. Jesus holds a clear crystal orb in his left hand, representing the celestial heavens.

The painting sold at a Christie’s auction in 2017 for the awe-inspiring amount of $450.3 million to Prince Bader bin Abdullah bin Mohammed, a distant relative of Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. It’s alleged that Prince Mohammed’s relative acted as a proxy buyer of the painting.

Initially, the Salvator Mundi was to be shown in Abu Dhabi’s Louvre. However, it has not been publicly displayed since its 2017 purchase. Reports say Crown Prince Muhammad plans to erect an art gallery to display the painting sometime this year.

2. The Card Players, Paul Cézanne

Last appraisal value: $250 million

There are five paintings in The Card Players series, all of which depict men playing a leisurely game of cards while smoking pipes. Four paintings are housed in various museums worldwide, including The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Musée d’Orsay. However, a fifth was purchased by the nation of Qatar from Greek shipping magnate George Embiricos in 2011.

Since its purchase, the fifth Card Players painting remains in Qatar’s private collection. It is unknown whether it will go on public display in the future.

3. Nafea faa ipoipo? (When Will You Marry?), Paul Gauguin

Last appraisal value: $210 million

Paul Gaugin’s Nafea faa ipoipo? (When Will You Marry?) is an oil painting of two Tahitian girls in traditional clothing sitting in a field of yellow, green and blue colors. The white flower behind one of the girl’s ears is thought to mean she’s looking for a husband.

The painting was displayed for decades at the Kunstmuseum Basel in Basel, Switzerland. Its prior owner, Rudolf Staechelin, decided to sell the piece to a limited liability company run by a British art dealer on behalf of Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani, former prime minister of Qatar. The piece remains part of the Qatar royal family’s private collection.

4. Wasserschlangen II (Water Serpents II), Gustav Klimt

Last appraisal value: $183 million

Gustav Klimt’s Wasserschlangen II (Water Serpents II) is a painting of two females with a serpentine form wrestling with a red snake. It was painted in 1907 and traded among various art collectors until World War II. During the war, the Nazi regime seized it from an Austrian Jew, Jenny Steiner. It ended up with Nazi filmmaker Gustav Ucicky before it went missing for nearly 60 years.

In 2012, Wasserschlangen II (Water Serpents II) reappeared in the hands of Gustav’s wife, Ursula Ucicky. It was sold to the art broker Yves Bouvier and then to Russian art collector Dmitry Rybolovlev in 2013. Rybolovlev later sold the painting for an undisclosed price to HomeArt, a Hong Kong private collection.

5. No. 6 (Violet, Green and Red), Mark Rothko

Last appraisal value: $100 million+

Mark Rothko’s 1951 painting, No. 6 (Violet, Green and Red), depicts hazy shades of purple, turquoise and red in an abstract expressionist form. It was purchased in January 2024 by Citadel CEO Kenneth Griffin, a known art collector and owner of other famously expensive artworks by Willem de Kooning and Jackson Pollock. Griffin purchased the painting at a Christie’s auction from Russian art collector and billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev.

Rybolovlev had purchased No. 6 (Violet, Green and Red) from Swiss art dealer Yves Bouvier for a reported €140 million in August 2014. Whether Griffin plans to hold the painting in a private collection or lend it for public display is unknown.

6. Les Femmes d’Alger (“Version O”), Pablo Picasso

Last appraisal value: $179.4 million

Pablo Picasso’s Les Femmes d’Alger (“Version O”) is one painting in a series inspired by Eug?–ne Delacroix’s Women of Algiers in their Apartment. In 2015, it was sold at a Christie’s auction to Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber al-Thani, Qatar’s former prime minister.

At that time, it was one of the most expensive artworks ever sold at auction. However, several others have since surpassed it. Les Femmes d’Alger (“Version O”) remains in private collection.

7. Shot Sage Blue Marilyn, Andy Warhol

Last appraisal value: $195 million

Andy Warhol’s Shot Sage Blue Marilyn is a square 40-inch painting on the silkscreen of Marilyn Monroe. It characterizes Marilyn’s trademark white-blond hair, blue eyeshadow and sultry expression on a blue background. The Shot Marilyn series includes multiple paintings of Monroe, each on a different color backdrop.

In May 2022, American art dealer Larry Gagosian purchased Shot Sage Blue Marilyn at a Christie’s auction. It’s unknown if the purchase was made on behalf of a client or for his private collection.

8. No. 5, 1948, Jackson Pollock

Last appraisal value: $140 million

Jackson Pollock’s No. 5, 1948 is an abstract expressionist painting made using grey, brown, white and yellow resin paints and drizzled in Pollock’s signature splotches. It’s a colossal artwork, measuring four by eight feet.

In 2006, it made news headlines when it was sold at a Sotheby’s auction by entertainment tycoon David Geffen for a record-breaking $140 million. Initially, news reports suggested that Mexican art collector David Martinez purchased the painting. However, he denied the reports, and the buyer’s name remains unknown.

It’s believed that Geffen sold the painting to raise money to purchase The Los Angeles Times, but his bid fell through.

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