Art Investment

Updated rating of "Top-5 living artists"

Changed and the principle of submission of this information. Do not think that because of advanced age of some participants in the rating. Just to continue it easier to add new records to it that just does not keep you waiting

The rules for our rankings were simple: first, were taken into account only deals with works by living authors, and secondly, only the auction sale, and, thirdly, as in the neighboring rating "Top-10 world artists", observed the rule of "one artist - one work (if the rating works two records belong to Jones, there remains only the most expensive). The backbone of this article was written in 2008, after selling a record amount of pictures Lusiena Freud's "Sleeping Inspector benefits", since the rating has been some progress, and the text was agreed to arrange in chronological order. Do not think that because of advanced age of some participants in the rating. Just to continue it easier to add new records to it that just does not keep you waiting.

November 10 1988. $ 17 million. Jasper Johns. "False start»

For many years the list of most expensive, drawn up by the above rules, headed "False start". Until 2007, this very bright and decorative canvas, painted Jasper Johns in 1959, are thought to have virtually impregnable for the living artist (even in vivo Classics) price - $ 17 million. Much to pay for it in gold for the art market in 1988. Interestingly, the length of Jasper Johns as a carrier of record was not continuous. In 1989 he interrupted his work colleagues at the workshop of Willem de Kooning: abstract-foot "mixing" was sold at Sotheby's for 20.7 million dollars. Jasper Johns had to move. But 8 years later, in 1997, de Kooning died, and "False start» 1 Jones again took the top spot auction prices for works by living artists. Almost 10 years.

No, fortunately nothing sad in ten years did not happen. Jasper Johns in 2010, celebrated 80-year anniversary, and God grant him health. Just in 2007 the unthinkable happened. Unthinkable, at least at the time of Jasper Johns ...

June 21, 2007. 9.7 million pounds. Damien Hirst. "Sleeping Spring»

So, in summer 2007 installation at the moment 42-year old British artist Damien Hirst (b. 1965) "Sleeping Spring" (2002) was sold at Sotheby's for 9.7 million pounds, or approximately $ 19 million. The work, by the way, had a rather unusual format. On the one hand, this display cabinets with dummy tablets (6136 pills) - the essence, the classical installation. And on the other - this cabinet is made of a flat (10 cm in depth), climbing into a frame and hang on the wall like a plasma panel, it is thus providing the comfort of ownership, typical patterns. In 2002, the sister of this installation, "Sleeping winter, went for 7.4 million dollars, more than two times cheaper. Difference in the price someone is "explained" by the fact that winter pills more faded. But it is clear that this explanation is absolutely groundless, because the pricing mechanism for such things is not correlated with their decorative effect.

And from that moment somehow agreed that Hurst became the first as the surviving author of the most expensive work, succeeding Jasper Johns. The question, however, one of those "depends on how you assume." The fact that Hirst was sold for precious pounds, and Jones is now a depreciating dollar, so even twenty years ago. But even if we take at face value, without taking into account the 20-year inflation, the dollar was expensive work by Hirst, as well as pounds - Jones. The situation was the border, and every man was free to decide who should be considered the most expensive.

Another thing is that now, like debates lost their meaning. Stop puzzle compilers ratings helped the American pop art master Jeff Koons.

November 14, 2007. 23,6 million dollars. Jeff Koons. "Suspended heart»

giant metal installation "Suspended heart was acquired in November 2007 at Sotheby's. As with Jones in 1988, this work represents the Koons gallery bought Larry Gagosian (in the press wrote that in the interests of the Ukrainian billionaire Viktor Pinchuk). Gallery has acquired not just the installation and, in fact, a certain piece of jewelry art. Let the work done and not in gold (the material has served as stainless steel) and size it is obviously more conventional pendant (2,7 m high statue weighs 1,600 kg), but has a similar purpose. On the production of compositions with heart, covered with ten layers of paint, it has been spent over 6,500 hours. As a result of the spectacular "jewelry" had paid 23.6 million dollars, huge money. And at that moment it seemed that much of this record will last even if not a decade, but five years - exactly. And who is capable of living to put these records in an open auction contest? Kuhns - Hurst - Koons - Hurst - later in the same manner. But there it was: May 13, 2008 came the next sensation.

May 13, 2008. 33,6 million dollars. Lucien Freud. "Sleep Inspector benefits»

Painting English is not abstract, but in a figurative expressionist Lusiena Freud (b. 1922) "Sleep Inspector benefits" in 1995 was sold at Christie's for 33,6 million dollars. Attention to work with the estimate announced in the 25-35 million dollars were attracted extraordinary. Not a single channel with the rubric of culture, wherever found himself on the canvas and some interviews smiling bbw Sue Tilley (model artist), which she very willingly gave out. Sue at the time and really served as an inspector for the benefits of London's employment, so that the name uncomplicated. Self portrait done in a manner recognizable English expressionist, that is, from a decorative point of view has been traditionally repulsive. Fault model is no (known photograph taken by Bruce Bernard in one of the sessions, posing for Sue, she was then only 38 years old), just so much in Freud's view. And I must say, there are lovers, jaded beautifully in traditional painting, who willingly shared this view. Or try to understand. Portrait of Sue Tilley, a match for the model is unusually large for Freud's size - more than two meters. A tiny portrait of Her Majesty, I remember, had to increase the canvas (tiara not fit), but here - space. There is evidence that over the portraits of Freud might have to work on year or longer. But the picture is "Sleep Inspector benefits" was made faster. It is known that Sue Tilley posed for 9 months, 8 hours a day, 2-3 times a week. You can even roughly calculate how much cost to Freud posing sessions (Sue told me that the artist is paid first by 20 and then to 33 pounds a day). The result is about 3,3 thousand pounds (about 6,000 dollars) and can be safely included in the cost. More paint, hire. Ragged couch does not count. And the remaining 33.59 million dollars - pay for talent. By the way, the buyer paintings became well-known Roman Abramovich.

June 30, 2008. 12.92 million pounds. Jeff Koons. "A flower from a balloon (Purple)»

sold in summer 2008 "flower from a balloon has been unable to break the record of Freud's paintings and become the most expensive living artist but its price - 12.92 million pounds (25.8 million dollars) - was the highest in the auction career, "the author. It is interesting that seven years earlier, the previous owners of "Flower" got the job for 1.1 million dollars. It is easy to calculate that during this time, its market price rose nearly 25 times.

Most records were recorded at the peak of the boom in contemporary art. From 2003 to 2008, prices in this segment grew more than tenfold (to then fall - but more on that later).

Before moving to a new market milestone, let us recall two further loud transactions also took place during this period. May 16, 2007 year has been updated record price for the work of Jasper Johns: Painting "The number 4" went to Christie's for 17.4 million dollars. This abstraction in which the spots emerges a distinct outline of mathematical quartet called the Arab (and in fact Indian). The plot is too symbolic, given that the "number 4" for a long time it took fourth place in the list of most expensive paintings by living artists. And let as opposed to "false start" it never rose to the position, but it does not change: Jones - a significant figure in postwar American art. The artist, who worked at the intersection of neo-Dada, Abstract Expressionism and Pop Art, is on horseback.

second loud deal - a record sale of paintings by Gerhard Richter. Interest in the work of this German artist in recent years is fantastic. We have previously cited figures showing that from 2004 to 2008 the price of his paintings have tripled 2 . And that, on average, without any division into periods and without the sort of quality. Million or five million became normal auction prices. But "Candle," written in 1983, February 27, 2008 year was surprisingly bought for $ 16 million in terms of pounds. Unlike other studies in our top five in the "Candle" no special calling: a traditional technique, the realistic genre, or rather even hyperrealism. At that time, Richter was like "photographed" on the canvas, but the deliberately introduced into the image defects inherent in photography, was filled with fog, knocked down "exposure" and "restraint." Of course, for the weary traveler in the world of contemporary art, such compositions Richter, albeit slightly blurred - a real feast for sore eyes, balm for the soul. The more so in light of the candle, as psychologists say, you can watch endlessly. See and think: why is it worth 16 million ?..

September 15, 2008. 10.3 million pounds. Damien Hirst. "The Golden Calf»

«The Golden Calf" by Damien Hirst was one of the works by the artist (or rather, a group of assistants under his direction), especially for a solo auction hosted by house Sotheby's. This is a huge stuffed bull, crowned with a golden disc yielded 10.3 million pounds. Apart from him, Hirst presented a further 222 works, of which the new owners have not found a total of five (one of the buyers, by the way, was Viktor Pinchuk). The auction was held on the day turned out to be black for the world financial markets (September 15, the date inglorious end bank Lehman Brothers), and really the culmination of art boom: the results held a month later, the London contemporary art auction had been "wrong". This was followed by a quiet enough for the market "Contemporary" in 2009, during which a record, such as those that put the "Golden Calf" or "Suspended Heart" by Jeff Koons, it was impossible dream. Due to falling prices by collectors preferred to keep high-creations of Hirst in itself; as a consequence, the number of his works auctioned was reduced by two thirds, and millions of results in 2009, was recorded just one. The artist adopted the "anti-crisis measures": said to discontinue some types of replicable studies in which the market sooner or later would have drowned, and fired a fair amount of personal assistants and began to paint (the first exhibition of paintings by Hirst, however, was mercilessly tick off the critics). According to analysts, Hearst as a "superstar", has already made history, and therefore buying it will be a very long time, however, the greatest value in the future is predicted for works created in the most innovative period in his career, that is, in the 1990 .

May 11, 2010. 28.6 million dollars. Jasper Johns. "Flag»

One of the most salient features of straightening of the market after the crisis was the desire of buyers to acquire works of "time-tested" classics. And looks very symbolic of the fact that speculation has risen thanks to Jeff Koons took off from second place Jasper Johns. Paid for his "Flag" 28.6 million dollars is just one of the fabulous auction results, indicating that the market sverhdorogih products is growing again, and how. For example, a rating of "Top-10 world artists" (which is not now living), a leader in 2010, was updated twice: in February sculpture Giacometti Walking man I »was sold for 104.3 million dollars, three months later, Picasso "Nude on a background of green leaves and bust" Out of 106.5 million.

If you go back to the chronology of money, then the Top-5 living artists is as follows:

1. Lyusien Freud: 33,6 million dollars

2. Jasper Johns: 28.6 million

3. Jeff Koons: 25.65 million

4. Damien Hirst: 10.3 million pounds

5. Gerhard Richter: 7.97 million pounds

URL ranking "Top-5 living artists" on the site ARTinvestment.RU here .

1 In 1988, "False start" was bought by the famous dealer Larry Gagosyanom for Samuel Newhouse. They say that the crisis which broke out shortly Newhouse seems to be even with the losses resold "False start," David Geffen. And in our days, in 2006, "False start" Jones was resold for $ 80 million in closed private transaction manager hedge fund Kenneth Griffin. The result is not an auction, they are informal, so as is customary in the ratings it does not take into account.

2 See: Bogdanov B . Art news /Direktor-Info. 2008. № 5. S. 42-48 .


Permanent link to:
https://artinvestment.ru/en/invest/rating/20101020__new_top5_artists.html
https://artinvestment.ru/invest/rating/20101020__new_top5_artists.html

When quoting reference to the https://artinvestment.ru without fail

© artinvestment.ru, 2025

Attention! All materials of the site and database of auction results ARTinvestment.RU, including illustrated reference information about the works sold at auctions, are intended for use exclusively for informational, scientific, educational and cultural purposes in accordance with Art. 1274 of the Civil Code. Use for commercial purposes or in violation of the rules established by the Civil Code of the Russian Federation is not allowed. ARTinvestment.RU is not responsible for the content of materials submitted by third parties. In case of violation of the rights of third parties, the site administration reserves the right to remove them from the site and from the database on the basis of an application from an authorized body.

Услуги ARTinvestment

Арт-консалтинг

Индивидуальные консультации от опытных искусствоведов по любым вопросам в сфере искусства

Составление Инвестиционного Портфеля

Подбор предметов искусства для инвестирования под любую инвестиционную стратегию

Индивидуальная оценка

Наши эксперты проведут профессиональную оценку вашего предмета искусства, учитывая его состояние, авторство, историю и другие факторы

500+

Проведенных аукционов

8 800+

Зарегистрированных пользователей на аукционе

343 000+

Записей в базе

16 000+

Художников в базе

Загружается...