I wanted… to reproduce this lightness.
The dialogue between painters and sculptors concerning whose discipline is the most refined, advanced and prestigious has gone on for centuries. Here at Barnebys, we call it a tie and have drawn up the ten most expensive sculptures ever sold at auction.
10. Unknown artist, Guennol Lioness
Number ten is the only sculpture by an unknown artist on the list. The work, created from magnesite and crystalline limestone, is a figure of Elamite art believed to have been created almost 5,000 years ago (3000-2800 BC). Guennol Lioness, discovered in Baghdad, Iraq, was most likely sculpted at the time of the invention of the wheel. It is one of few known artworks from the beginning of civilization and was sold at Sotheby’s in 2007 for $57.2 million.
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9. Constantin Brâncuși, La Muse Endormie
This patinated bronze head inlaid with gold leaf was created by Constantin Brâncuși in 1913 and last sold at Christie’s in May 2017 for $57.4 million. The subject of the sleeping head occupied Brancusi’s oeuvre for nearly 20 years. Going against the grain, Brâncuși shunned the ornamental in favor of simplified, fundamental forms. The peaceful head is one of four casts made in 1910 from a marble for which Baroness Renée Irana Franchon served as the model.
8. Jeff Koons, Balloon Dog (Orange)
In 2013, Christie’s presented Balloon Dog (Orange) by Jeff Koons, a monumental sculpture in polished stainless steel. The famous dog comes from a series of five large-scale sculptures in several different colors. The work was acquired by a private collector for a staggering $58.4 million, making it the second most expensive sculpture by a living artist.
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7. Amedeo Modigliani, Tête
At number seven, we find a 73 cm-high stone sculpture by Amedeo Modigliani, which was sold at Christie’s in 2015 for $70.7 million. Today, most of Modigliani’s work can only be seen in museums, and very few pieces are still in private ownership. In Tête we can see the characteristics that make Modigliani’s work so unique: traditional shapes reminiscent of the Italian Renaissance combine with the style of African masks and the moai of Easter Island.
6. Constantin Brâncuși, La Jeune Fille Sophistiquée(Portrait of Nancy Cunard)
The second work by Brâncuși in this countdown is this unique work in polished bronze, which dates back to 1932 and sold at Christie’s for $71 million. Brâncuși used Nancy Cunard, a legendary personality of the roaring twenties, as his muse for the piece.
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The sculpture offers a multitude of contrasts: straight lines mingling with curves, smooth surfaces swirling, while the curved shapes suddenly shrink and stagnate. Brâncuși was deftly able to capture Cunard’s elegant appearance without resorting to a traditional figurative language.
5. Alberto Giacometti, Le Nez
The latest addition to this list was auctioned at Sotheby's in November 2021 as part of the Macklowe Collection, which fetched a total of $676.1 million. And $78.4 million of that went to Alberto Giacometti's bronze, steel, and iron sculpture, Le Nez, based on Mark Rothko's No. 7, which became the second most expensive lot at the auction. In total, Giacometti created eight copies of the sculpture, three of which are privately owned. The buyer Le Nez was the Chinese crypto billionaire Justin Sun.
4. Jeff Koons, Rabbit
This stainless steel rabbit made history in 2019 when it became the most expensive artwork by a living artist sold at auction. The hammer fell at an incredible $91 million after an enthusiastic bidding war. It is the last remaining version (out of three) still in private hands and so there was great interest in this particular inflatable animal.
3. Alberto Giacometti, Chariot
We enter the top three with one of Giacometti’s most important works, Chariot, a 145-cm-tall sculpture that was sold at Sotheby’s in 2014. The artist said that the image of the chariot came to him in a dream. The dream probably came about from a hospital stay in 1938 when the artist witnessed nurses pushing their pharmacy trollies. The sculpture sold for $101 million.
2. Alberto Giacometti, L'Homme Qui Marche I
Created in 1961, Giacometti’s L'Homme Qui Marche I (or The Walking Man I) has become one of the most iconic images in modern art. The bronze sculpture sold for $104.3 million at Sotheby’s in 2010. The slender figure is depicted in full motion, and it encapsulates both the humility and power of humanity. So powerful is this image that it appears on the 100 franc note in Switzerland, the home country of the great sculptor.
1. Alberto Giacometti, L'Homme au Doigt
Topping the list is, again, the great Giacometti. In May 2015, L’Homme au Doigt (The Man with the Finger) made history when it sold for an incredible $141.3 million, making it the most expensive sculpture ever sold at auction. The bronze work was created in 1947 and single handedly reinvented the idea of sculpture, breaking conventions and solidifying Giacometti’s unique vision of reality.
“In 1945 I swore to myself that I didn’t want to let my figures get smaller and smaller, not even by an inch...” Giacometti once said. “You don't feel your weight. I wanted – without having thought about it – to reproduce this lightness, and that by making the body so thin”.
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Although male artists are still dominant when it comes to the most expensive artworks ever sold at auction, it’s important to also mention the most expensive sculpture created by a woman.
The title was awarded to Louise Bourgeois in 2019 when her Spider sold for $32 million at Christie’s.
