The 18th of May marks International Museum Day. After only being able to celebrate this day virtually last year, and with the world gradually beginning to reopen, experts at OnBuy.com wanted to find out more about the prices of paintings in museums, and in particularly, which city is home to the most valuable paintings.
OnBuy.com found a list of the most expensive paintings, and selected the top 30 that currently belong in a museum. The city location was then noted to determine where is home to the most valuable paintings.
Which city’s total painting value is highest?
Chicago tops the list as the city home to the paintings with the most value. Of the top 30 most expensive paintings, Chicago houses roughly over $735,000,000 worth of art. This includes the likes of ‘Meules’ ($114,700,000) and ‘Meule’ ($89,900,000) by Claude Monet at the Art Institute of Chicago, and sculptures such as ‘Rabbit’ by Jeff Koons ($94,400,000) at the Museum of Contemporary Art.
Following behind Chicago is Paris, which is home to $734,000,000 worth of the most expensive paintings. Work such as ‘The Card Players’ by Paul Cezanne ($294,200,000) resides in the Musee d’Orsay, and Rembrandt’s ‘Pendant portraits of Maerten Soolmans and Oopjen Coppit’ ($201,000,000) is shared by The Louvre and the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.
Home of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, one of the most prestigious art museums in the world, New York comes in third place housing $518,000,000 worth of the most expensive paintings. Showcasing classics such as ‘A Wheatfield of Cypresses’ by Vincent Van Gogh ($104,500,000) and ‘Au Lapin Agile’ by Pablo Picasso (86,900,000) it is no surprise to see New York making the podium.
Despite owning just one painting in the top 30 most valuable, The Louvre Abu Dhabi comes in at fourth place. Home of ‘Salvador Mundi’ by Leonardo Da Vinci, the most expensive painting in the world, it auctioned at $450,300,000 in 2017, meaning the value now is estimated at over $486,600,000.
Which city owns the largest collection of most valuable paintings?
Chicago, New York City and Paris are home to the joint highest number of valuable paintings, with the three of them housing five of the top 30 most expensive paintings.
In joint second place is London and Los Angeles, each home to four of the 30 most expensive paintings. If visiting London’s National Gallery, expect to see Van Gogh’s ‘Vase with Fifteen Flowers’, worth over $92,500,000.
For a full breakdown of the top 30 most expensive paintings and their locations, please refer to the data found here. Please also find pictures available for editorial use. Please credit all images used.