The ten most expensive Van Gogh paintings

The ten most expensive paintings by Van Gogh that have been sold at auction

Adventures with Van Gogh is a weekly blog by Martin Bailey, The Art Newspaper's long-standing correspondent and expert on the Dutch painter. Published on Fridays, stories range from newsy items about this most intriguing artist, to scholarly pieces based on meticulous investigations and discoveries.

Explore all of Martin’s adventures with Van Gogh here.

REVISED: Originally published on 29 April 2022, this blog post was updated with new information on 17 July 2026

Van Gogh’s pictures only occasionally come onto the market and, not surprisingly, they fetch huge sums. The odd one is sold privately through a dealer, usually very discreetly—but in a typical year less than a handful are publicly auctioned. Here we record the ten most expensive Van Gogh paintings that have sold at auction, all at over $50m.

Van Gogh’s Landscape under Stormy Sky (April 1889), sold for $54m at Sotheby’s, New York, 5 November 2015

Landscape under Stormy Sky was painted in Arles after Van Gogh had mutilated his ear and just a few weeks before his departure for the asylum. The meadow is full of springtime flowers with a strolling couple on the left side of the field, set under a dramatic sky. The picture fetched $54m in 2015.

Van Gogh’s Irises (May 1889), sold for $54m at Sotheby’s, New York, 11 November 1987 Credit: J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles

Irises (May 1889), which was probably the first painting done by Van Gogh at the asylum, has had an unusually chequered recent history. In 1987 it sold at Sotheby’s for $54m ($160m in today’s money), going to the Australian businessman Alan Bond. He faced financial problems and was unable to pay, so ownership remained with the auction house.

In 1990 Sotheby’s then sold Irises to the J. Paul Getty Museum in California in a private deal. Although the price paid by the museum has never been disclosed, it was probably around the auction sum. It is now among the highlights of the Getty’s collection.

Van Gogh’s Poppies and Daisies (June 1890), sold for $62m at Sotheby’s, New York, 4 November 2014

Poppies and Daisies is a dramatic and colourful still life, completed just a few weeks before the artist’s suicide in Auvers-sur-Oise. It sold for $62m, going to the Chinese entertainment company owner Wang Zhongjun.

Wang is also an amateur artist who enjoys painting flower still lifes. After the auction he commented that the final sum was “slightly lower than I expected”. Wang’s purchase is another indication of how the Van Gogh market has shifted dramatically in the past few years—from North America and Europe to East Asia (China, Hong Kong and South Korea). It is believed that ownership may now reside with other Chinese buyers.

Van Gogh’s Parisian Novels (November-December 1887), sold for $63m at Sotheby’s, New York, 20 November 2025

Parisian Novels (November-December 1887) depicts mainly yellow-covered books spread on a table. All the other paintings in this top ten are from Van Gogh’s more valued years in Provence and Auvers-sur-Oise, but this work represents a record price for one of his slightly earlier pictures done in Paris. The still life was sold from the collection of Chicago-based collectors Cindy and Jay Pritzker. It has also apparently gone to a Chinese buyer.

Van Gogh’s The Avenue of Les Alyscamps (November 1888), sold for $66m at Sotheby’s, New York, 5 May 2015

The Avenue of Les Alyscamps was painted in Arles, a few days after the arrival of Van Gogh’s friend Paul Gauguin, who also painted the scene close by. In 2003 the Van Gogh landscape had sold at Christie’s for $12m, but when it returned to auction in 2015 an anonymous buyer paid $66m—more than five times as much. It, too, is believed to have gone to a Chinese collector.

Van Gogh’s Wooden Cabins among the Olive Trees and Cypresses (October 1889), sold for $71m at Christie’s, New York, 11 November 2021

Wooden Cabins among the Olive Trees and Cypresses went for $71m in 2021. A striking and little known landscape painting, it was done in the countryside outside the asylum. It went to Hugo Nathan, of the London art advisors Beaumont Nathan, for an unnamed private client.

Van Gogh's Self-portrait without a Beard (September 1889), sold for $72m at Christie’s, New York, 19 November 1998

Self-portrait without a Beard soared to $72m (in today’s money $150m) when it was auctioned back in 1998. Van Gogh’s self-portraits are highly prized and only two others remain in private hands. This one was particularly personal for Vincent, since he painted it in the asylum as a gift to his mother for her 70th birthday. It is believed to be hidden away in a very private European collection.

Van Gogh’s Labourer in a Field (September 1889), sold for $81m at Christie’s, New York, 13 November 2017

Labourer in a Field sold for $81m in 2017. Also painted in the asylum, it was inspired by the view from Van Gogh's bedroom. A ploughman is at work, set beneath one of the artist’s powerful suns. Like most Van Goghs that come onto the market, this too sold to an anonymous buyer.

Van Gogh’s Portrait of Dr Paul Gachet (June 1890), sold for $83m at Christie’s, New York, 15 May 1990 Courtesy of Städel Museum, Frankfurt

Portrait of Dr Paul Gachet held the record as the most expensive Van Gogh for over 30 years. As long ago as 1990 it fetched $83m at Christie’s, then the highest auction price for a work by any artist. With inflation, this would be equivalent to $210m today. In real terms, this means it remains the most expensive Van Gogh.

So why did it make the record price? It is undoubtedly among Van Gogh’s finest portraits. Dr Gachet was a key figure in Vincent’s life, caring for him after the artist shot himself in Auvers-sur-Oise, so the identity of the sitter adds greatly to its interest.

In 1990 Portrait of Dr Paul Gachet went to a Tokyo buyer—at a time when Japanese collectors were feverishly competing over the big names of Impressionism and Post-Impressionism. It was bought by the businessman Ryoei Saito, who later claimed that he wanted the painting to be cremated with his body. Fortunately, this did not occur on his death in 1996, and instead the Van Gogh was sold privately to Wolfgang Flöttl, an Austrian investment manager. After he faced financial problems the portrait changed hands again and is now owned by an extremely secretive European billionaire.

Van Gogh’s Orchard with Cypresses (April 1888), sold for $117m at Christie’s, New York, 9 November 2022

In 2022 Orchard with Cypresses sold at Christie’s, New York for $117m, coming from the collection of Microsoft co-founder, the late Paul Allen. It is one of the series of spring blossom paintings which Van Gogh made soon after his arrival in Arles. It now stands as a record price for a Van Gogh painting—until the next great masterpiece comes along.

Van Gogh’s Sunflowers (January 1889), sold for £24m ($40m) at Christie’s, London, 30 March 1987

Missing from the top ten is Sunflowers, which sold in 1987, when the boom in art prices was just beginning. It is one of seven still lifes of sunflowers that Van Gogh painted in Arles. This one is his own copy of the original version with a yellow background which is now at London’s National Gallery.

When it came up at Christie’s in 1987, the £24m ($40m) paid was three times more than any artwork had ever fetched at auction ($120m in today’s money). It was also the first time the record price for a work of art had been for a Modern picture, rather than an Old Master. The buyer was the Tokyo-based Yasuda insurance company. The firm was later taken over by the Sompo company and the Van Gogh is now the star attraction at the Sompo Museum of Art.

The Tokyo Sunflowers has proved to be an astonishing investment. If it ever came onto the market again, it would certainly go for several hundred million dollars.

A number of Van Goghs have been sold privately for prices in the same range as those that went to auction. These include Portrait of Joseph Roulin (January 1889), acquired by New York’s Museum of Modern Art in 1989; a version of Wheatfield with Cypresses (June 1889), acquired by New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1993; and Girl against a Background of Wheat (June 1890), bought by casino boss Steve Wynn in 1999 and now owned by hedge fund manager Steven Cohen.

All of the top ten were sold in New York, an indication that the main demand has shifted away from Europe. But times are changing, and the market is moving again.

In 2021, Sotheby’s sold Still life: Vase with Gladioli (August-September 1886) in Hong Kong. It went for the equivalent of US$9m, likely going to a Chinese buyer. Christie’s followed suit, selling Moored Boats (July 1887) in Hong Kong in 2024, for the equivalent of US$32m. On 27 March 2026, it sold the early Dutch work A Girl in a Wood (August 1883) there, where it fetched the equivalent of US$4m. It now seems that half of all Van Gogh paintings sold end up with Asian collectors.

The highest prices are all for oil paintings, not for works on paper. When it comes to watercolours, the most expensive has been Wheatstacks (June 1888), which sold at Christie’s for $36m in 2021.

Van Gogh’s Wheatstacks (June 1888), sold for $36m, at Christie’s, New York, 11 November 2021

The most expensive Van Gogh drawing is Sower in a Wheatfield with setting Sun (July 1888). It was sold at Sotheby’s for $11m in 2025.

Van Gogh’s Sower in a Wheatfield with setting Sun (July 1888), sold at Sotheby’s, New York, 18 November 2025

Martin Bailey is a leading Van Gogh specialist and special correspondent for The Art Newspaper. He has curated exhibitions at the Barbican Art Gallery, Compton Verney/National Gallery of Scotland and Tate Britain.

Martin has written a number of bestselling books on Van Gogh’s years in France: The Sunflowers Are Mine: The Story of Van Gogh's Masterpiece (Frances Lincoln 2013, UK and US), Studio of the South: Van Gogh in Provence (Frances Lincoln 2016, UK and US), Starry Night: Van Gogh at the Asylum (White Lion Publishing 2018, UK and US) and Van Gogh’s Finale: Auvers and the Artist’s Rise to Fame (Frances Lincoln 2021, UK and US). The Sunflowers are Mine (2024, UK and US) and Van Gogh’s Finale (2024, UK and US) are also now available in a more compact paperback format.

His other recent books include Living with Vincent van Gogh: The Homes & Landscapes that shaped the Artist (White Lion Publishing 2019, UK and US), which provides an overview of the artist’s life. The Illustrated Provence Letters of Van Gogh has been reissued (Batsford 2021, UK and US). My Friend Van Gogh/Emile Bernard provides the first English translation of Bernard’s writings on Van Gogh (David Zwirner Books 2023, UKand US).

To contact Martin Bailey, please email vangogh@theartnewspaper.com

Please note that he does not undertake authentications.

Explore all of Martin’s adventures with Van Gogh here