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Top Art Sales of 2021

With safety regulations changing in regards to the pandemic and the economy beginning to bounce back worldwide, it is no surprise that 2021 saw some incredibly high fine art purchases at auction. Many of the auctions were viewed over the internet and often the winning bids came from those participating remotely. Even in this new age we are living in, the love of beautiful art prevails. Here are some of the biggest art sales of the year.

Mark Rothko- No. 7

In November, an unknown buyer purchased the color block painting from Sothby’s in New York for a record setting $82.5 million dollars. The canvas was painted in 1951, with bands of green, crimson and lavender. It had only expected to sell for $70 million to $90 million at auction, so sellers were happily surprised. Rothko was known for his disdain of the establishment and this was the first time this piece had ever been up for auction.

Pablo Picasso – Woman Sitting Near a Window (Marie-Thérèse)

This painting was sold in May at Christies Auction House in New York for $103.4 million dollars .That was almost double what it was estimated to go for. The painting sold quickly, after on nineteen minutes of bidding. This sale confirms the still growing popularity of the artist Picasso, even almost fifty years after his death. The painting depicts his mistress and muse, Marie-Therese Walter and showcases his signature abstract style.

Sandro Botticelli– Portrait of a Young Man Holding a Roundel

This portrait of a young man painted by the Renaissance master was sold at Sothby’s in January for an astounding $80 million dollars. It set a record for the artist and for any Old Master painting sold at Sotheby’s, also making it the second most expensive Old Master painting ever sold. The winner was a phone bidder that they believe to be Russian, while the second highest bidder was an Asian art collector. Works by Botticelli rarely come up for sale, so this was an exciting purchase.

Vincent Van Gogh– Wooden huts among olive trees and cypress trees

This landscape of olive trees and cypresses set under a mid-day sun was auctioned off at Christie’s in New York in November and brought in $62 million dollars. It came from an extensive art collection owned by an oil tycoon. This masterpiece was kept in Cox’s mansion in Texas until last year when Cox died at the age of 99. The estimate before the auction had only been $40 million, so it was an impressive increase.

Claude Monet– Water Lily Pond

In May, this piece by the famous Impressionist artist sold for $70.4 million dollars at Sothby’s in New York. That is almost double the estimated $40 million they had expected it to go for. The record for a Monet painting was $110.7 million for a painting from his Haystacks series which was sold in 2019. This still manages to make the top five highest grossing paintings for him though. This is one of the many pieces the artist painted in his garden in Giverny, where he paid special attention to the water lily flowers. They were among his favorite plants in the garden.

Not everyone has millions of dollars to spend on a good art piece. For those of us that would love to put something beautiful in our home but at a more affordable price, we here at overstockArt have the solution. Browse our bestsellers gallery and find some of the most sought after art pieces at very affordable prices. We want to make sure that an art lover at any budget can afford the best.

** The images listed above are Wheat Field with Cypresses by Vincent Van Gogh, and The Japanese Bridge by Claude Monet, and ARE NOT the images spoken about in the above post.