Top 10 Most Expensive Living American Artists at Auction 2015
2015-08-20
Jeff Koons, Balloon Dog (Orange) (1994-2000)
1. Jeff Koons
Jeff Koons tops our list again this year, and his high will likely be tough to beat even in the next few years. Koons’s kitschy Balloon Dog (Orange) (1994-2000) sold for a staggering $58.4 million at Christie’s in 2013. In addition to having the largest sale during this period, Koons is also the most popular: eleven works from the Pop art prince were among the top twenty lots sold during this time period.
Jeff Koons, Jim Beam—J. B. Turner Train (1986)
2. Jasper Johns
Johns’s paintings of unfettered Americana have proven popular with collectors. His Flag (1983) fetched $36 million at Sotheby’s New York this past November, keeping him in the upper echelon of expensive American artists at auction.
Jasper Johns, Flag (1955)
3. Ed Ruscha
Ruscha lands in the third spot on our list with a $30 million sale of his text painting Smash (1963) at Christie’s in November this past year proving that the artist’s Pop art style is continually in-demand.
Ed Ruscha, Smash (1963)
4. Christopher Wool
Wool may have slipped down a spot from last year, but his presence on our list shows his selling power hasn’t lost any strength. Untitled (Riot) (1990) sold for $29.9 million at Sotheby’s in May, blasting past its $18 million high estimate—and close to $3.4 million more than his previous record for Apocalypse Now (1988), which sold for $26.5 million at Christie’s in 2013.
Christopher Wool, Untitled (Riot) (1990)
5. Robert Ryman
Ryman moves up one place from last year with the sale of his 1980 painting Bridge for $20.6 million at Christie’s in May. A Sotheby’s sale of Untitled (1961) for roughly $15 million in November, along with a sale of Link (2002) for about $11.4 million at Christie’s New York that same month, proves his work has been a recent force at auction.
Robert Ryman, Bridge (1980)
6. Brice Marden
Although his painting The Attended (1996-99) is still his highest sale during this period ($10.9 million at Sotheby’s in November 2013), Brice Marden also had sales in May of Blue Horizontal (1986-87) for $10.3 million at Christie’s and Elements (Hydra) for $9.2 million at Phillips, and a 2010 sale of Cold Mountain I (Path) (1988-89) for $9.6 million at Sotheby’s.
Brice Marden, Blue Horizontal (1986-87)
7. Cady Noland
The sale of Bluewald (1989) in May at Christie’s for $9.8 million pushed Noland into our seventh spot, up from the last spot previously. The work fetched $3.2 million more than was paid for Oozewald (1989), which held Noland’s prior record when it sold in 2011 at Sotheby’s for roughly $6.6 million.
Cady Noland, Bluewald (1989)
8. Richard Prince
Serial appropriator Richard Prince falls one spot on our list, yet his painting Nurse of Greenmeadow (2002) marks a new record for the artist at auction. It sold for $8.6 million at Christie’s this past May.
Richard Prince, Nurse of Greenmeadow (2002)
9. David Hammons
Hammons stays on our list of the most expensive living American artists at auction with his sculpture Untitled (2000), which sold for $8 million at Phillips in November 2013.
David Hammons, Untitled (2000)
10. Cindy Sherman
Sherman breaks into our top ten with the November 2014 sale of a lot that included 21 her Untitled Film Stills (1977). These early photographs sold for $6.7 million at Christie’s. The works, which were initially put together by curator Ydessa Hendeles, were sold from the collection of Mitchell and Emily Rales to raise funds for the expansion of their private museum, Glenstone, in Potomac, Maryland.
Cindy Sherman, Untitled Film Still #17 (1978)