Tickets are now on sale for NIMBASH, the annual fundraiser supporting St. Helena’s Nimbus Arts.
NIMBASH, a celebration of the arts and artists of Napa Valley, is scheduled for Saturday, May 11, from 5:30 to 10 p.m. at Charles Krug Winery, 2800 Main St., St. Helena. The event includes interactive art activities, live music and performance art, farm-to-table food and superlative wines, a sizzling fashion show, silent and live auctions, and an after-burner dance party, according to a news release.
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Nimbus Arts' annual fundraiser NIMBASH raised $7,000 for the St. Helena nonprofit last year. This year's event is scheduled for May 11.
Nimbus Arts, a St. Helena-based, community-led nonprofit, ignites artistic expression and makes art accessible and available, according to its website. Nimbus Arts strengthens art throughout the community by “creating opportunities and community for working artists. Dozens of local artists have joined Nimbus as freelance art instructors, sharing their skill and knowledge with students while earning income.”
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Tickets for NIMBASH are $225. For more information, visit nimbusarts.org/nimbash/tickets.
'Uncle Bully’s Surf Skool' debuts at Cameo
Cameo Cinema screens the award-winning documentary short “Uncle Bully’s Surf Skool” April 12-14.
“Uncle Bully’s Surf Skool” is about Maui surf instructor Bull Kotter and his mentorship of underserved youth during the COVID-19 pandemic. The film is directed and produced by Leah Warshawski and Todd Soliday, who also screened their previous documentary “Big Sonia” at the independent movie theater in St. Helena.
“The Cameo Cinema holds such a special place in our hearts since our Big Sonia release, and we’re thrilled that they will host our first theatrical screenings for ‘Uncle Bully’s Surf Skool,’” said Warshawski in a press release. “As filmmakers we place a high value on technical quality and the Cameo always sets the standard for technical perfection. My family lives in Napa as well and it’s always a joy to come home and share our work locally.”
“Uncle Bully’s Surf Skool” received acclaim at the most recent Hawaiian International Film Festival, winning the Audience Award for Best Documentary. Warshawski, Soliday and Kotter will be available for Q&As following each screening.
Showings are Friday, April 12 at 5 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday, April 13-14, at 2 p.m. For tickets, visit cameocinema.com/movie/uncle-bullys-surf-school.
![Nancy Willis](https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/c/31/c31adabc-e613-11ee-9d7a-5bd52e0186ab/65f9c750b021b.image.jpg?resize=150%2C200 150w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/c/31/c31adabc-e613-11ee-9d7a-5bd52e0186ab/65f9c750b021b.image.jpg?resize=200%2C267 200w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/c/31/c31adabc-e613-11ee-9d7a-5bd52e0186ab/65f9c750b021b.image.jpg?resize=225%2C300 225w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/c/31/c31adabc-e613-11ee-9d7a-5bd52e0186ab/65f9c750b021b.image.jpg?resize=300%2C400 300w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/c/31/c31adabc-e613-11ee-9d7a-5bd52e0186ab/65f9c750b021b.image.jpg?resize=400%2C533 400w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/c/31/c31adabc-e613-11ee-9d7a-5bd52e0186ab/65f9c750b021b.image.jpg?resize=540%2C720 540w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/c/31/c31adabc-e613-11ee-9d7a-5bd52e0186ab/65f9c750b021b.image.jpg?resize=640%2C854 640w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/c/31/c31adabc-e613-11ee-9d7a-5bd52e0186ab/65f9c750b021b.image.jpg?resize=750%2C1000 750w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/c/31/c31adabc-e613-11ee-9d7a-5bd52e0186ab/65f9c750b021b.image.jpg?resize=990%2C1320 990w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/c/31/c31adabc-e613-11ee-9d7a-5bd52e0186ab/65f9c750b021b.image.jpg?resize=1035%2C1380 1035w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/c/31/c31adabc-e613-11ee-9d7a-5bd52e0186ab/65f9c750b021b.image.jpg?resize=1200%2C1600 1200w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/c/31/c31adabc-e613-11ee-9d7a-5bd52e0186ab/65f9c750b021b.image.jpg 1333w)
Napa Valley artist Nancy Willis will lead guests on plein air painting sessions at Napa Valley wineries this spring.
Painting in the vineyards
Artist Nancy Willis hosts a series of plein air painting sessions at three iconic Napa Valley winery locations this spring.
Spend your day living the life of an artist in these thoughtfully curated art experiences. Paint the beauty of the Napa Valley in the morning and then settle in for a little wine, cheese and charcuterie, according to a press release.
“It is never too late to slow down time,” Willis said in the release. “For beginners and advanced painters or visitors who want to add something special to their visit.”
The first event takes place at Maxville Winery, 4105 Chiles Pope Valley Road, St. Helena, on Monday, April 1. No fooling here. Enjoy a painting session, exhibition tour and some wine. The session runs from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tickets are $145.
The second event is Monday, April 22, at Cuvaison, 1221 Duhig Road, Napa. This session, also from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., includes a lake view for inspiration during the art session as well as wine and charcuterie. Tickets are $145.
The final event is scheduled for Tuesday, May 21, at Stags Leap Winery, 6150 Silverado Trail, Napa. This session, offered from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., is available at $155 and includes painting, wine and bites.
For more information or to sign up for these classes, visit nancywillis.com/classes.
Fleck's paintings on display in St. Helena
German artist Ralph Fleck is showcasing a collection of paintings at Caldwell Snyder Gallery in St. Helena through March 31.
The show is in celebration of his inclusion in “recent exhibitions at the Bröhan Museum in Berlin and the Museum Morsbroich in Leverkusen, Germany,” according to a press release.
A former professor of painting at the Nuremberg Academy, Fleck is represented in many public collections including the Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlung Munich; Kunsthaus Zürich; Sprengel Museum Hannover; and the Wilhelm Lehmbruck Museum Duisburg. In 2015 a major retrospective of his work was held at the Museum Küppersmühle Duisburg.
Fleck’s densely textured paintings often depict patters on life, such as flora fields, aerial cityscapes, mountain ranges, still lifes and crowds of figures.
Caldwell Snyder Gallery, 1328 Main St., St. Helena, is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, visit caldwellsnyder.com/ralph-fleck or call 707-200-5050.
A Salute to Culinary Cinema
CIA at Copia and the Napa Valley Film Festival present A Salute to Culinary Cinema April 5-7. The event serves as a fundraiser for both the Culinary Institute of America’s Scholarship Fund and Cinema Napa Valley.
The event, which will be held at CIA at Copia, features four film and meal pairings, as well as a book signing and presentation from Turner Classic Movies host and entertainment journalist Dave Karger.
Tickets are available online at napavalleyfilmfest.org/festival/2024-salute-culinary-cinema.
The festival itinerary is as follows:
Friday, April 5
5 p.m. - A screening of “The Taste of Things” followed by dinner prepared by Maître Cuisiniers de France (Master Chefs of France) Roland Passot and Joel Guillion at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, April 6
11 a.m. - A screening of “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs” followed by lunch prepared by the chefs and culinary students of the CIA at 12:45 p.m.
3 p.m. - Book signing with Dave Karger, author of “50 Oscar Nights – Iconic Stars and Filmmakers on Their Career-Defining Wins.” Books are available for purchase at the CIA Gift Store.
5 p.m. - A screening of “The Hundred Foot Journey” followed by a dinner prepared by Chef Philip Tessier at 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, April 7
11 a.m. - A screening of “Tampopo” followed by lunch at 1 p.m., featuring a Japanese “Ramen Palooza” experience featuring ramen and izakaya stations.
All events will be held at CIA at Copia, 500 First St. Napa. For more information, visit ciaatcopia.com/napa-valley-film-festival.
Momtaz Begum-Hossain, an award-winning colour and craft expert, has explained how crafting and colour can be beneficial to your mental health. "Just like we need our daily intake of vitamins and veggies, it's beneficial to have a daily dose of colour," Momtaz begins. "Considering colours, creating palettes, building mood boards or playing with paints and crayons has both mental and physical benefits as colours can correct any imbalances we're feeling." According to Momtaz, here are the benefits of crafting: Find a meditative state,...
10 of the most expensive paintings sold over the past decade and the artists behind them
10 of the most expensive paintings sold over the past decade and the artists behind them
![10 of the most expensive paintings sold over the past decade and the artists behind them](https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/c/67/c67ee861-ed2d-5c81-aa31-d3781149aadf/649d6d485b8a4.image.jpg?resize=150%2C107 150w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/c/67/c67ee861-ed2d-5c81-aa31-d3781149aadf/649d6d485b8a4.image.jpg?resize=200%2C143 200w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/c/67/c67ee861-ed2d-5c81-aa31-d3781149aadf/649d6d485b8a4.image.jpg?resize=225%2C160 225w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/c/67/c67ee861-ed2d-5c81-aa31-d3781149aadf/649d6d485b8a4.image.jpg?resize=300%2C214 300w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/c/67/c67ee861-ed2d-5c81-aa31-d3781149aadf/649d6d485b8a4.image.jpg?resize=400%2C285 400w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/c/67/c67ee861-ed2d-5c81-aa31-d3781149aadf/649d6d485b8a4.image.jpg?resize=540%2C385 540w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/c/67/c67ee861-ed2d-5c81-aa31-d3781149aadf/649d6d485b8a4.image.jpg?resize=640%2C456 640w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/c/67/c67ee861-ed2d-5c81-aa31-d3781149aadf/649d6d485b8a4.image.jpg?resize=750%2C535 750w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/c/67/c67ee861-ed2d-5c81-aa31-d3781149aadf/649d6d485b8a4.image.jpg?resize=990%2C706 990w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/c/67/c67ee861-ed2d-5c81-aa31-d3781149aadf/649d6d485b8a4.image.jpg?resize=1035%2C738 1035w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/c/67/c67ee861-ed2d-5c81-aa31-d3781149aadf/649d6d485b8a4.image.jpg?resize=1080%2C770 1200w)
The global art market is undeniably a behemoth valued at $67.8 billion, according to the 2023 Art Basel and UBS global art market report. Sales increased 3% over the last year, bringing the market above pre-pandemic levels. That growth was driven by sales from the high end of the market, which have captured the public imagination. In truth, this high-priced art market works on a skewed supply and demand curve.
"The art market functions as a big consensus marketing machine," Olav Velthuis, a University of Amsterdam professor who studies the sociology of the global art market, told Vox. "So what people do is look at quality signals." These signals can include an artist's exhibits in a museum, the collectors buying an artist's work, and what a curator says about an artist. It's word-of-mouth amplified.
It is difficult to place a value on art, yet in auction after auction, many do. Sometimes for reasons having almost nothing to do with the artwork itself. Art can be a valuable investment for the rich, a strategy to diversify their portfolio. Buyers can purchase work from a gallery at a relatively low price and sell it for much more down the road.
There is no better example of this than the 1973 Scull sale, where Robert C. Scull, a New York taxi magnate, sold his 50 best abstract expressionist and pop art paintings at Sotheby Parke Bernet. The auction put post-war and contemporary art on the market, introducing the world to now-household names like Andy Warhol, Robert Rauschenberg, and Jasper Johns.
Scull's collection sold for multiple times what he paid for the works driven by smart marketing and publicity. A Cy Twombly piece he purchased for $750 went for $40,000, for example. Since then, the market has gone into overdrive, selling artworks for prices many of us will never see in a lifetime.
Nevertheless, great works aren't just Eurocentric pieces prized by a select cadre of specialists—influential art is created daily by artists with something to say. Look beyond auction houses and peruse local galleries and neighborhood art fairs. Purchasing straight from the maker is also an excellent option that returns profits into an artist's pockets.
While you ponder your next art purchase, Singulart researched the most expensive paintings ever sold and highlighted 10 of the past decade from 10 different artists. Only confirmed sales from open auctions and private sales were considered. Data was collected from several sources, including Masterworks and The Art Wolf. Court records, articles, auction house archives, and official documents were also reviewed.
'Nu couche (sur le cote gauche)' by Amedeo Modigliani
!['Nu couche (sur le cote gauche)' by Amedeo Modigliani](https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/8/68/868f8058-83b7-5c11-a6bc-fdb4c08a1506/649d6d4bc2fc8.image.jpg?resize=150%2C107 150w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/8/68/868f8058-83b7-5c11-a6bc-fdb4c08a1506/649d6d4bc2fc8.image.jpg?resize=200%2C143 200w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/8/68/868f8058-83b7-5c11-a6bc-fdb4c08a1506/649d6d4bc2fc8.image.jpg?resize=225%2C160 225w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/8/68/868f8058-83b7-5c11-a6bc-fdb4c08a1506/649d6d4bc2fc8.image.jpg?resize=300%2C214 300w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/8/68/868f8058-83b7-5c11-a6bc-fdb4c08a1506/649d6d4bc2fc8.image.jpg?resize=400%2C285 400w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/8/68/868f8058-83b7-5c11-a6bc-fdb4c08a1506/649d6d4bc2fc8.image.jpg?resize=540%2C385 540w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/8/68/868f8058-83b7-5c11-a6bc-fdb4c08a1506/649d6d4bc2fc8.image.jpg?resize=640%2C456 640w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/8/68/868f8058-83b7-5c11-a6bc-fdb4c08a1506/649d6d4bc2fc8.image.jpg?resize=750%2C535 750w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/8/68/868f8058-83b7-5c11-a6bc-fdb4c08a1506/649d6d4bc2fc8.image.jpg?resize=990%2C706 990w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/8/68/868f8058-83b7-5c11-a6bc-fdb4c08a1506/649d6d4bc2fc8.image.jpg?resize=1035%2C738 1035w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/8/68/868f8058-83b7-5c11-a6bc-fdb4c08a1506/649d6d4bc2fc8.image.jpg?resize=1080%2C770 1200w)
- Selling price: $170.4 million
- Inflation-adjusted price: $199.5 million
- Painted in: 1917-1918
- Sold in: 2015
Amedeo Modigliani's "Nu couché (sur le côté gauche)," a sprawling oil on canvas nude, is the largest work in a series of 22 modern nudes in repose and shows the entire female figure. The ever-controversial piece was acquired by Shanghai billionaire couple Liu Yiqian and his wife Wang Wei, who purchased it for their Long Museum. The sale became the second-highest price ever paid at auction.
According to Christie's, the piece caused outrage when the Galerie Berthe Weill in Paris exhibited it in 1917. Police called the painting "an offense against public morals" and demanded the gallery remove the artwork. Even in the 1950s, the New York postal office decided against featuring it on a postcard.
'Les Femmes d'Alger (Version 'O')' by Pablo Picasso
!['Les Femmes d'Alger (Version 'O')' by Pablo Picasso](https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/3/7f/37fc9554-df97-5857-8ee9-984aa9190314/649d6d4f13501.image.jpg?resize=150%2C107 150w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/3/7f/37fc9554-df97-5857-8ee9-984aa9190314/649d6d4f13501.image.jpg?resize=200%2C143 200w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/3/7f/37fc9554-df97-5857-8ee9-984aa9190314/649d6d4f13501.image.jpg?resize=225%2C160 225w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/3/7f/37fc9554-df97-5857-8ee9-984aa9190314/649d6d4f13501.image.jpg?resize=300%2C214 300w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/3/7f/37fc9554-df97-5857-8ee9-984aa9190314/649d6d4f13501.image.jpg?resize=400%2C285 400w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/3/7f/37fc9554-df97-5857-8ee9-984aa9190314/649d6d4f13501.image.jpg?resize=540%2C385 540w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/3/7f/37fc9554-df97-5857-8ee9-984aa9190314/649d6d4f13501.image.jpg?resize=640%2C456 640w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/3/7f/37fc9554-df97-5857-8ee9-984aa9190314/649d6d4f13501.image.jpg?resize=750%2C535 750w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/3/7f/37fc9554-df97-5857-8ee9-984aa9190314/649d6d4f13501.image.jpg?resize=990%2C706 990w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/3/7f/37fc9554-df97-5857-8ee9-984aa9190314/649d6d4f13501.image.jpg?resize=1035%2C738 1035w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/3/7f/37fc9554-df97-5857-8ee9-984aa9190314/649d6d4f13501.image.jpg?resize=1080%2C770 1200w)
- Selling price: $179.4 million
- Inflation-adjusted price: $209.7 million
- Painted in: 1955
- Sold in: 2015
Pablo Picasso's vibrant "Les Femmes d'Alger (Version "O")" sold for a world auction record at Christie's for any work of art. According to auction details, Picasso's masterpiece was property from a distinguished fine art gallery in Paris that Victor and Sally Ganz, known Picasso connoisseurs acquired.
The sale smashed the artwork's previous sales price of $31,902,500. The oil on canvas painting displays Picasso's signature cubism and vibrant color at the forefront and is said to be a lament to Matisse, his friend, and great artistic rival. It's part of Picasso's series on the Delacroix 'femmes' that consisted of 100 studies on paper and 15 paintings.
'Wasserschlangen II' by Gustav Klimt
!['Wasserschlangen II' by Gustav Klimt](https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/4/2b/42b019e4-66f8-5ccd-9915-3cd342599952/649d6d5257ee0.image.jpg?resize=150%2C107 150w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/4/2b/42b019e4-66f8-5ccd-9915-3cd342599952/649d6d5257ee0.image.jpg?resize=200%2C143 200w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/4/2b/42b019e4-66f8-5ccd-9915-3cd342599952/649d6d5257ee0.image.jpg?resize=225%2C160 225w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/4/2b/42b019e4-66f8-5ccd-9915-3cd342599952/649d6d5257ee0.image.jpg?resize=300%2C214 300w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/4/2b/42b019e4-66f8-5ccd-9915-3cd342599952/649d6d5257ee0.image.jpg?resize=400%2C285 400w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/4/2b/42b019e4-66f8-5ccd-9915-3cd342599952/649d6d5257ee0.image.jpg?resize=540%2C385 540w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/4/2b/42b019e4-66f8-5ccd-9915-3cd342599952/649d6d5257ee0.image.jpg?resize=640%2C456 640w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/4/2b/42b019e4-66f8-5ccd-9915-3cd342599952/649d6d5257ee0.image.jpg?resize=750%2C535 750w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/4/2b/42b019e4-66f8-5ccd-9915-3cd342599952/649d6d5257ee0.image.jpg?resize=990%2C706 990w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/4/2b/42b019e4-66f8-5ccd-9915-3cd342599952/649d6d5257ee0.image.jpg?resize=1035%2C738 1035w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/4/2b/42b019e4-66f8-5ccd-9915-3cd342599952/649d6d5257ee0.image.jpg?resize=1080%2C770 1200w)
- Selling price: $187 million
- Inflation-adjusted price: $222.6 million
- Painted in: 1907
- Sold in: 2013
Controversy shrouds Klimt's highly detailed "Wasserschlangen II" or "Water Serpents II." The oil painting, depicting intertwined nude enigmatic female imagery and a red serpent flowing horizontally, had been seized by Nazis from the painting's original owners––the Steiner family––in Austria.
Gustav Ucicky, a filmmaker and director through many Austrian cinematic eras, from silent movies to Nazi propaganda films, acquired "Wasserschlangen II" along with other Klimt pieces and left the collection to his third wife.
It's said Ucicky is the illegitimate son of Klimt, and his widow Ursula Ucicky sold the painting through consignment with Sotheby's in 2012, with the Steiner heirs supposedly receiving half of the selling price. Art dealer Yves Bouvier purchased the painting and sold the piece to Russian oligarch Dmitri Rybolovlev. The two and Sotheby's have been in ongoing court battles over fraudulent inflated art deals, including the Klimt masterpiece and Sotheby's involvement.
'The Standard Bearer' by Rembrandt
!['The Standard Bearer' by Rembrandt](https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/d/f1/df1e0f3a-a7c9-5ea9-a577-9df47debc354/649d6d55d0cda.image.jpg?resize=150%2C107 150w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/d/f1/df1e0f3a-a7c9-5ea9-a577-9df47debc354/649d6d55d0cda.image.jpg?resize=200%2C143 200w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/d/f1/df1e0f3a-a7c9-5ea9-a577-9df47debc354/649d6d55d0cda.image.jpg?resize=225%2C160 225w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/d/f1/df1e0f3a-a7c9-5ea9-a577-9df47debc354/649d6d55d0cda.image.jpg?resize=300%2C214 300w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/d/f1/df1e0f3a-a7c9-5ea9-a577-9df47debc354/649d6d55d0cda.image.jpg?resize=400%2C285 400w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/d/f1/df1e0f3a-a7c9-5ea9-a577-9df47debc354/649d6d55d0cda.image.jpg?resize=540%2C385 540w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/d/f1/df1e0f3a-a7c9-5ea9-a577-9df47debc354/649d6d55d0cda.image.jpg?resize=640%2C456 640w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/d/f1/df1e0f3a-a7c9-5ea9-a577-9df47debc354/649d6d55d0cda.image.jpg?resize=750%2C535 750w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/d/f1/df1e0f3a-a7c9-5ea9-a577-9df47debc354/649d6d55d0cda.image.jpg?resize=990%2C706 990w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/d/f1/df1e0f3a-a7c9-5ea9-a577-9df47debc354/649d6d55d0cda.image.jpg?resize=1035%2C738 1035w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/d/f1/df1e0f3a-a7c9-5ea9-a577-9df47debc354/649d6d55d0cda.image.jpg?resize=1080%2C770 1200w)
- Selling price: $197.9 million
- Inflation-adjusted price: $197.9 million
- Painted in: 1636
- Sold in: 2021
Long held by the Rothschild family, Rembrandt's "The Standard Bearer" was purchased by the Dutch government with the support of the Rijksmuseum and the Rembrandt Association. According to the Rijksmuseum, the painting was owned by private collectors, including England's King George IV and the Rothschild family, who acquired the piece in 1844.
The masterpiece depicts Rembrandt as dressed in the grand outfit of standard bearers. These militiamen were at the front line in 17th-century wars and played a crucial role in the Eighty Years' War, which eventually birthed the independent Netherlands. As such, the painting harkens back to the country's birth story.
The work is a precursor to Rembrandt's "The Night Watch." After a tour of 12 museums in 12 provinces in the Netherlands, the historic painting will permanently enter the Rijksmuseum collection in Amsterdam. The tour concludes in May 2023.
'No. 20 (Yellow Expanse)' by Mark Rothko
!['No. 20 (Yellow Expanse)' by Mark Rothko](https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/4/93/493fd3f1-8221-5c7d-85ef-0d9bf80183e2/644c30c30d8b2.image.png?resize=150%2C107 150w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/4/93/493fd3f1-8221-5c7d-85ef-0d9bf80183e2/644c30c30d8b2.image.png?resize=200%2C143 200w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/4/93/493fd3f1-8221-5c7d-85ef-0d9bf80183e2/644c30c30d8b2.image.png?resize=225%2C160 225w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/4/93/493fd3f1-8221-5c7d-85ef-0d9bf80183e2/644c30c30d8b2.image.png?resize=300%2C214 300w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/4/93/493fd3f1-8221-5c7d-85ef-0d9bf80183e2/644c30c30d8b2.image.png?resize=400%2C285 400w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/4/93/493fd3f1-8221-5c7d-85ef-0d9bf80183e2/644c30c30d8b2.image.png?resize=540%2C385 540w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/4/93/493fd3f1-8221-5c7d-85ef-0d9bf80183e2/644c30c30d8b2.image.png?resize=640%2C456 640w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/4/93/493fd3f1-8221-5c7d-85ef-0d9bf80183e2/644c30c30d8b2.image.png?resize=750%2C535 750w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/4/93/493fd3f1-8221-5c7d-85ef-0d9bf80183e2/644c30c30d8b2.image.png?resize=990%2C706 990w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/4/93/493fd3f1-8221-5c7d-85ef-0d9bf80183e2/644c30c30d8b2.image.png?resize=1035%2C738 1035w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/4/93/493fd3f1-8221-5c7d-85ef-0d9bf80183e2/644c30c30d8b2.image.png?resize=1080%2C770 1200w)
- Selling price: $200 million
- Inflation-adjusted price: $233.2 million
- Painted in: 1953
- Sold in: 2014
At 10 feet tall and 15 feet wide, Rothko's luminous 'No. 20 (Yellow Expanse)' was sold via a private sale. The abstract piece belonged to Rachel Lambert "Bunny" Mellon, an American horticulturist, philanthropist, art collector, and wife of philanthropist Paul Mellon.
Mellon is responsible for helping Jackie Kennedy, a close friend, redesign the famous White House Rose Garden. Mellon had long championed Rothko and even purchased unstretched pieces from the artist's studio floor. According to Sotheby's, who helped facilitate the private sale, Mellon owned nine large-scale paintings from Rothko's estate.
'Number 17A' by Jackson Pollock
!['Number 17A' by Jackson Pollock](https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/c/bf/cbf32552-83e5-5aca-8ae6-5b68691b2395/650c2d05b0900.image.png?resize=150%2C107 150w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/c/bf/cbf32552-83e5-5aca-8ae6-5b68691b2395/650c2d05b0900.image.png?resize=200%2C143 200w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/c/bf/cbf32552-83e5-5aca-8ae6-5b68691b2395/650c2d05b0900.image.png?resize=225%2C160 225w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/c/bf/cbf32552-83e5-5aca-8ae6-5b68691b2395/650c2d05b0900.image.png?resize=300%2C214 300w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/c/bf/cbf32552-83e5-5aca-8ae6-5b68691b2395/650c2d05b0900.image.png?resize=400%2C285 400w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/c/bf/cbf32552-83e5-5aca-8ae6-5b68691b2395/650c2d05b0900.image.png?resize=540%2C385 540w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/c/bf/cbf32552-83e5-5aca-8ae6-5b68691b2395/650c2d05b0900.image.png?resize=640%2C456 640w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/c/bf/cbf32552-83e5-5aca-8ae6-5b68691b2395/650c2d05b0900.image.png?resize=750%2C535 750w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/c/bf/cbf32552-83e5-5aca-8ae6-5b68691b2395/650c2d05b0900.image.png?resize=990%2C706 990w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/c/bf/cbf32552-83e5-5aca-8ae6-5b68691b2395/650c2d05b0900.image.png?resize=1035%2C738 1035w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/c/bf/cbf32552-83e5-5aca-8ae6-5b68691b2395/650c2d05b0900.image.png?resize=1080%2C770 1200w)
- Selling price: $200 million
- Inflation-adjusted price: $233.3 million
- Painted in: 1948
- Sold in: 2015
Jackson Pollock's improvisational and abstract flinging techniques became known as his "drip paintings." Pollock's recognizable fluid expressionism comes through in his "Number 17A," an oil painting on fiberboard canvas.
In 1949, "Number 17A" was one of three paintings featured in a Life magazine article, "Jackson Pollock: Is He the Greatest Living Painter in the United States?" Pollock is now regarded as among the 20th century's great artists. "Number 17A" was sold in a private sale by the David Geffen Foundation to hedge fund investor and Citadel founder Kenneth C. Griffin.
'Nafea faa Ipoipo? (When Will You Marry?)' by Paul Gauguin
!['Nafea faa Ipoipo? (When Will You Marry?)' by Paul Gauguin](https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/5/13/5133b8d4-07b9-5ee8-b592-230735e14985/649d6d6b6d1f6.image.jpg?resize=150%2C107 150w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/5/13/5133b8d4-07b9-5ee8-b592-230735e14985/649d6d6b6d1f6.image.jpg?resize=200%2C143 200w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/5/13/5133b8d4-07b9-5ee8-b592-230735e14985/649d6d6b6d1f6.image.jpg?resize=225%2C160 225w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/5/13/5133b8d4-07b9-5ee8-b592-230735e14985/649d6d6b6d1f6.image.jpg?resize=300%2C214 300w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/5/13/5133b8d4-07b9-5ee8-b592-230735e14985/649d6d6b6d1f6.image.jpg?resize=400%2C285 400w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/5/13/5133b8d4-07b9-5ee8-b592-230735e14985/649d6d6b6d1f6.image.jpg?resize=540%2C385 540w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/5/13/5133b8d4-07b9-5ee8-b592-230735e14985/649d6d6b6d1f6.image.jpg?resize=640%2C456 640w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/5/13/5133b8d4-07b9-5ee8-b592-230735e14985/649d6d6b6d1f6.image.jpg?resize=750%2C535 750w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/5/13/5133b8d4-07b9-5ee8-b592-230735e14985/649d6d6b6d1f6.image.jpg?resize=990%2C706 990w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/5/13/5133b8d4-07b9-5ee8-b592-230735e14985/649d6d6b6d1f6.image.jpg?resize=1035%2C738 1035w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/5/13/5133b8d4-07b9-5ee8-b592-230735e14985/649d6d6b6d1f6.image.jpg?resize=1080%2C770 1200w)
- Selling price: $210 million
- Inflation-adjusted price: $247.2 million
- Painted in: 1892
- Sold in: 2015
"Nafea faa Ipoipo? (When Will You Marry?)" was included in Gauguin's Paris exhibition of 1893 at Galerie Durand-Ruel, listed for the extraordinary price of 1,500 francs––but it did not sell. However, that didn't hurt its prospects in the 21st century when it sold for millions in 2015.
The painting shows two Tahitian women, one dressed in a colorful wraparound skirt with a flower in her hair, turning away from another woman dressed in a missionary-style dress. Some believe the painting alludes to the changes happening on Tahitian lands under French rule.
This first visit to Tahiti resulted in some 60 canvases of Tahitian life, 37 of which were eventually exhibited in Paris. Gauguin died in 1903 at the age of 54 from a morphine overdose. Rudolf Staechelin, a former Sotheby's executive, sold the painting from his family trust of impressionist and post-impressionist works in a private sale. A lawsuit followed the deal, stating the oil painting sold in 2014 for $90 million less than originally reported.
'Orange Marilyn' by Andy Warhol
!['Orange Marilyn' by Andy Warhol](https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/b/19/b19d7959-7608-5bac-8e83-1d2f89cdbc11/649d6d6eb45b4.image.jpg?resize=150%2C107 150w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/b/19/b19d7959-7608-5bac-8e83-1d2f89cdbc11/649d6d6eb45b4.image.jpg?resize=200%2C143 200w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/b/19/b19d7959-7608-5bac-8e83-1d2f89cdbc11/649d6d6eb45b4.image.jpg?resize=225%2C160 225w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/b/19/b19d7959-7608-5bac-8e83-1d2f89cdbc11/649d6d6eb45b4.image.jpg?resize=300%2C214 300w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/b/19/b19d7959-7608-5bac-8e83-1d2f89cdbc11/649d6d6eb45b4.image.jpg?resize=400%2C285 400w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/b/19/b19d7959-7608-5bac-8e83-1d2f89cdbc11/649d6d6eb45b4.image.jpg?resize=540%2C385 540w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/b/19/b19d7959-7608-5bac-8e83-1d2f89cdbc11/649d6d6eb45b4.image.jpg?resize=640%2C456 640w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/b/19/b19d7959-7608-5bac-8e83-1d2f89cdbc11/649d6d6eb45b4.image.jpg?resize=750%2C535 750w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/b/19/b19d7959-7608-5bac-8e83-1d2f89cdbc11/649d6d6eb45b4.image.jpg?resize=990%2C706 990w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/b/19/b19d7959-7608-5bac-8e83-1d2f89cdbc11/649d6d6eb45b4.image.jpg?resize=1035%2C738 1035w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/b/19/b19d7959-7608-5bac-8e83-1d2f89cdbc11/649d6d6eb45b4.image.jpg?resize=1080%2C770 1200w)
- Selling price: $225 million
- Inflation-adjusted price: $248 million
- Painted in: 1964
- Sold in: 2018
Andy Warhol's pop art often embraced celebrity culture, best exemplified by Marilyn Monroe as his muse for his iconic "Orange Marilyn." The piece is modeled after a publicity image of Monroe from the 1953 film "Niagara."
According to Christie's, Warhol began his Marilyn series soon after Monroe died in Los Angeles at 36 years old. In using Monroe's image, Warhol embraced her as a true media product. Warhol eventually produced 12 single images of Marilyn informally titled according to flavor: "Cherry Marilyn," "Grape Marilyn," and "Mint Marilyn," among them. "Orange Marilyn" silkscreen sold privately to art collector and financier Kenneth C. Griffin.
'Interchange' by Willem de Kooning
!['Interchange' by Willem de Kooning](https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/4/c9/4c915c04-b79a-59fd-a10c-6025c985924a/650c2d0f3d998.image.png?resize=150%2C107 150w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/4/c9/4c915c04-b79a-59fd-a10c-6025c985924a/650c2d0f3d998.image.png?resize=200%2C143 200w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/4/c9/4c915c04-b79a-59fd-a10c-6025c985924a/650c2d0f3d998.image.png?resize=225%2C160 225w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/4/c9/4c915c04-b79a-59fd-a10c-6025c985924a/650c2d0f3d998.image.png?resize=300%2C214 300w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/4/c9/4c915c04-b79a-59fd-a10c-6025c985924a/650c2d0f3d998.image.png?resize=400%2C285 400w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/4/c9/4c915c04-b79a-59fd-a10c-6025c985924a/650c2d0f3d998.image.png?resize=540%2C385 540w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/4/c9/4c915c04-b79a-59fd-a10c-6025c985924a/650c2d0f3d998.image.png?resize=640%2C456 640w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/4/c9/4c915c04-b79a-59fd-a10c-6025c985924a/650c2d0f3d998.image.png?resize=750%2C535 750w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/4/c9/4c915c04-b79a-59fd-a10c-6025c985924a/650c2d0f3d998.image.png?resize=990%2C706 990w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/4/c9/4c915c04-b79a-59fd-a10c-6025c985924a/650c2d0f3d998.image.png?resize=1035%2C738 1035w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/4/c9/4c915c04-b79a-59fd-a10c-6025c985924a/650c2d0f3d998.image.png?resize=1080%2C770 1200w)
- Selling price: $300 million
- Inflation-adjusted price: $350.4 million
- Painted in: 1955
- Sold in: 2015
Willem de Kooning sold his abstract expressionist on canvas, "Interchange," in 1955 for $4,000. Kooning's oil painting features quick gestural marks with emphatic light and color depicting a landscape. Eventually, the David Geffen Foundation sold "Interchange" to Kenneth C. Griffin in a private sale that included Andy Warhol's "Number 17A."
According to Vanity Fair, both paintings were displayed at the Art Institute of Chicago, where Griffin was a trustee, then quietly moved to the Norton Museum of Art in Florida.
'Salvator Mundi' by Leonardo da Vinci
!['Salvator Mundi' by Leonardo da Vinci](https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/5/09/509a26b9-eaa4-5103-96c6-00a66717db7c/649d6d7a2a8e4.image.jpg?resize=150%2C107 150w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/5/09/509a26b9-eaa4-5103-96c6-00a66717db7c/649d6d7a2a8e4.image.jpg?resize=200%2C143 200w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/5/09/509a26b9-eaa4-5103-96c6-00a66717db7c/649d6d7a2a8e4.image.jpg?resize=225%2C160 225w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/5/09/509a26b9-eaa4-5103-96c6-00a66717db7c/649d6d7a2a8e4.image.jpg?resize=300%2C214 300w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/5/09/509a26b9-eaa4-5103-96c6-00a66717db7c/649d6d7a2a8e4.image.jpg?resize=400%2C285 400w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/5/09/509a26b9-eaa4-5103-96c6-00a66717db7c/649d6d7a2a8e4.image.jpg?resize=540%2C385 540w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/5/09/509a26b9-eaa4-5103-96c6-00a66717db7c/649d6d7a2a8e4.image.jpg?resize=640%2C456 640w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/5/09/509a26b9-eaa4-5103-96c6-00a66717db7c/649d6d7a2a8e4.image.jpg?resize=750%2C535 750w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/5/09/509a26b9-eaa4-5103-96c6-00a66717db7c/649d6d7a2a8e4.image.jpg?resize=990%2C706 990w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/5/09/509a26b9-eaa4-5103-96c6-00a66717db7c/649d6d7a2a8e4.image.jpg?resize=1035%2C738 1035w, https://web.archive.org./web/20240322174853im_/https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/napavalleyregister.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/5/09/509a26b9-eaa4-5103-96c6-00a66717db7c/649d6d7a2a8e4.image.jpg?resize=1080%2C770 1200w)
- Selling price: $450.3 million
- Inflation-adjusted price: $507.4 million
- Painted in: 1490-1519
- Sold in: 2017
According to the "Salvator Mundi" provenance, the emotive oil on canvas was commissioned by King Louis XII of France and his wife, Anne of Brittany, following the conquest of Milan and Genoa sometime after 1500. From there, the story of this "male Mona Lisa" painting gets murky.
Da Vinci's masterpiece depicts a half-length figure of Christ as the savior of the world, facing the viewer and holding a crystal orb in his left hand as he raises his right in benediction. "Salvator Mundi" was traced around 1900, when it was positioned as a work of a lesser hand, Bernardino Luini.
The painting was part of an estate sale in 2005 in New Orleans, where dealer and art historian Dr. Robert Simon and his associate Alexander Parish purchased it for just $1,175. Conservator Dianne Dwyer Modestini restored the piece—some say excessively—from 2005 to 2017.
In 2013, art dealer Yves Bouvier purchased the painting for $83 million and resold the piece to Russian oligarch Dmitry Rybolovlev for $127.5 million in less than 48 hours. Rybolovlev then put it up for sale at Christie's––and sold it to an anonymous buyer.
Some speculate its secretive buyer could be the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman, who may have the painting sequestered on a superyacht, away from public view. Two documentaries, "The Lost Leonardo" and " The Saviour for Sale," examine the painting's strange story.
This story originally appeared on Singulart and was produced and distributed in partnership with Stacker Studio.
Share your arts news with the Napa Valley Register. Send press materials to Samie Hartley at shartley@napanews.com.