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Outbyte PC Repair FREERepair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsFix Now →Outbyte Driver Updater FREEFix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Vincent van Gogh’s auction record is Orchard with Cypresses, which sold at Christie’s New York in 2022 for $117,180,000 including the buyer’s premium. The ranking below covers public-auction sales of paintings through 2025, using the rounded figures in Martin Bailey’s ranking updated July 17, 2026. It excludes private transactions, drawings, watercolours and inflation-adjusted estimates.
The eight highest reported Van Gogh auction prices
The Art Newspaper’s specialist ranking compares nominal auction results— the amount reported for each sale at the time, rather than a modern-dollar equivalent. Several historical figures are rounded, so the order should not be read as a precision comparison to the cent.
| Rank | Painting | Reported nominal price | Sale | Auction house and city | Fee basis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Orchard with Cypresses | $117 million (exactly $117,180,000) | 2022 | Christie’s, New York | Exact Guinness total includes buyer’s premium; ranking amount rounded |
| 2 | Portrait of Dr Paul Gachet | $83 million | 1990 | Christie’s, New York | Fee basis not separately stated in the ranking |
| 3 | Labourer in a Field | $81 million | 2017 | Christie’s, New York | Fee basis not separately stated in the ranking |
| 4 | Self-portrait without a Beard | $72 million | 1998 | Christie’s, New York | Fee basis not separately stated in the ranking |
| 5 | Wooden Cabins among the Olive Trees and Cypresses | $71 million (Christie’s reported $71,350,000) | 2021 | Christie’s, New York | Ranking amount rounded; the auction-house result is reported as $71,350,000 |
| 6 | The Avenue of Les Alyscamps | $66 million | 2015 | Sotheby’s, New York | Fee basis not separately stated in the ranking |
| 7 | Parisian Novels | $62.7 million (rounded to $63 million) | 2025 | Sotheby’s, New York | The 2025 sale report says its prices include fees |
| 8 | Poppies and Daisies | $62 million | 2014 | Sotheby’s, New York | Fee basis not separately stated in the ranking |
Orchard with Cypresses therefore remains the current nominal auction leader in the reviewed list. The exact Guinness figure is higher than the rounded $117 million shown in the specialist ranking.
What the ranking does—and does not—measure
It is an auction-price list, not an artistic league table
A high price reflects the particular work offered, its provenance, condition, timing, competition and sale terms. The ranking does not establish that the first-ranked painting is more artistically important than every work below it.
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Only publicly auctioned paintings are included
Private sales are outside the comparison. Van Gogh drawings and watercolours also have valuable auction records, but they are different categories and are not interchangeable with paintings in this list.
Nominal dollars are not inflation-adjusted dollars
The amounts above are the reported prices from their sale years. A 1990 result and a 2022 result cannot be treated as equal in purchasing power without a separate inflation calculation; the ranking itself uses nominal auction figures.
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Why the 2025 sale changed the order
Parisian Novels sold at Sotheby’s New York on November 20, 2025 for $62.7 million. The contemporary sale report states that its quoted prices include fees. Bailey’s 2026 update rounds that result to $63 million and places it seventh, moving Fields near Les Alpilles out of the previously published ten-work list.
How to read the prices consistently
- Check whether fees are included. The exact $117,180,000 for Orchard with Cypresses includes the buyer’s premium, while the 2025 report for Parisian Novels explicitly includes fees.
- Keep rounded and exact figures separate. The ranking rounds several historical results; Christie’s reported the 2021 Wooden Cabins result as $71,350,000.
- Retain the sale year and venue. They identify the specific transaction and prevent a nominal result from being mistaken for a current valuation.
- Expect the ranking to change. Another major Van Gogh painting entering a public auction could reorder the list.
Further Van Gogh reading
For historical context rather than auction-price verification, Martin Bailey’s book The Sunflowers Are Mine: The Story of Van Gogh’s Masterpiece offers a focused account of one of Van Gogh’s best-known subjects.
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