All prices listed are for general reader interest only, and are shown in this order: $ (USD)/£ (GBP). All prices listed are Hammer Price (the winning bid amount) unless noted as Premium, indicating that the figure quoted includes the Buyer’s Premium of an additional percentage charged by the auction house, as well as taxes.]
What is the current value of paintings by the most popular artists of the mid- to late Victorian era? Can you guess whose work brings the top price to date? Where do James Tissot and your favorite artist rank? Here is a list of the twenty-three most valuable pictures sold in the past twenty-one years, from bottom up:
23. John William Waterhouse (1849 – 1917), Ophelia (1894)
Phillips, London (2000): $ 2,253,300/£ 1,500,000
Ophelia (1894), by John William Waterhouse. Oil on canvas, 49 by 29 in. (124.46 by 73.66 cm). (Photo: Wikipaintings.org)
22. Lawrence Alma-Tadema (1836 – 1912), Roses of Heliogabalus (1888)
Christie’s, London (1993): $ 2,288,250/£ 1,500,000
Roses of Heliogabalus (1888), by Lawrence Alma-Tadema. Oil on canvas, 52 by 84 in. (132.08 by 213.36 cm). (Photo Wikimedia.org)
21 (tie). James Tissot (1836 – 1902), Mavourneen, Portrait of Kathleen Newton (1877)
Christie’s, New York (1995): $ 2,300,000/£ 1,433,915
Mavourneen, Portrait of Kathleen Newton (1877), by James Tissot. Oil on canvas, 36 by 20 in. (91.44 by 50.80 cm). (Photo: Wikipaintings.org)
21 (tie). Lawrence Alma-Tadema (1836 – 1912). Baths of Caracalia – Thermae Antoniniane (1899)
Sotheby’s, New York (1993): $ 2,300,000/£ 1,488,191
Baths of Caracalia – Thermae Antoniniane (1899), by Lawrence Alma-Tadema. Oil on canvas, 60 by 37 in. (152.40 by 93.98 cm). (Photo: Wikiart.org)
20. James Tissot (1836 – 1902), La cheminée (The Fireplace, c. 1869)
Christie’s, London (2003): $ 2,334,780/£ 1,400,000
La cheminée, (c. 1869), by James Tissot. Oil on canvas, 20 by 13 in. (50.80 by 33.02 cm). (Photo: Wikimedia.org)
19. James Abbott McNeill Whistler (1834 – 1903), Harmony in grey, Chelsea in ice (1864)
Christie’s, New York (2000): $ 2,600,000/£ 1,768,106
18. John William Waterhouse (1849 – 1917), Ophelia (1889)
Sotheby’s, London (2001): $ 2,633,290/£ 1,850,000
Ophelia (1889), by John William Waterhouse. Oil on canvas, 39 by 62 in. (99.06 by 157.48 cm). (Photo: Wikimedia.org)
17. James Tissot (1836 – 1902), L’Orpheline (Orphans, 1879)
Christie’s, New York (1993): $ 2,700,000/£ 1,867,865
L’Orpheline (Orphans, 1879), by James Tissot. Oil on canvas, 85 by 43 in. (215.90 by 109.22 cm). (Photo: Wikipaintings.org)
16. James Tissot (1836 – 1902), Preparing for the gala (c. 1874-76)
Christie’s, London (2006): $ 2,763,150/£ 1,500,000
15. William Holman Hunt (1827 – 1910), The Shadow of Death (1873)
Sotheby’s, London (1994): $ 2,778,650/£ 1,700,000
The Shadow of Death (1873), by William Holman Hunt. Oil on panel, 41 by 32 in. (104.14 by 81.28 cm). (Photo: wikipaintings.org)
14. James Tissot (1836 – 1902), October (1878)
Sotheby’s, New York (1995): $ 2,800,000/£ 1,775,185
October (1878), by James Tissot. Oil on canvas, 46 by 21 in. (116.84 by 53.34 cm). (Photo: Wikipaintings.org)
13. Sir John Everett Millais (1829 – 1896), Sleeping (1865)
Christie’s, London (1999): $ 3,041,520/£ 1,900,000
Sleeping (1865), by John Everett Millais. Oil on canvas, 35 by 27 in. (88.90 by 68.58 cm). (Photo: Wikipaintings.org)
12. Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828 – 1882), The Salutation of Beatrice (1869)
Christie’s, London (2012): $ 3,334,788/£ 2,169,250 (Premium)
The Salutation of Beatrice (1869), by Dante Gabriel Rossetti. Oil on canvas, 22.48 by 18.50 in. (57.10 by 47.00 cm). (Photo: Wikipedia.org)
11. Albert Joseph Moore (1841 – 1893), Jasmine (c. 1880)
Christie’s, London (2008): $ 3,476,301/£ 1,777,250 (Premium)
Jasmine (c. 1880), by Albert Moore. Oil on canvas, 26.22 by 19.72 in. (66.60 by 50.10 cm). (Photo: Wikiart.org)
10. Sir John Everett Millais (1829 – 1896), Sisters (1868)
Christie’s, London (2013): $ 3,492,865/£ 2,301,875 (Premium)
Sisters (1868), by John Everett Millais. Oil on canvas, 42.52 by 42.52 in. (108.00 by 108.00 cm) (Photo: Wikimedia.org)
9. Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828 – 1882), Pandora (1869)
Christie’s, London (2000): $ 3,605,280/£ 2,400,000
In 2004, Pandora sold for $ 2,378,480/£ 1,300,000 (Hammer) at Christie’s, London.
Pandora (1869), by Dante Gabriel Rossetti. Pastel on paper, 37 by 26 in. (93.98 by 66.04 cm). (Photo: Wikiart.org)
8. James Tissot (1836 – 1902), Le banc de jardin (The Garden Bench, 1880)
Sotheby’s, New York (1994): $ 4,800,000/£ 3,035,093
Le banc de jardin (The Garden Bench, 1880). Oil on canvas, 39 by 56 in. (99.06 by 142.24 cm). (Photo: Wikimedia.org)
7. William Holman Hunt (1827 – 1910), Isabella and the Pot of Basil (1867)
Christie’s, London (2014): $ 4,890,161/£ 2,882,500 (Premium)
Isabella and the Pot of Basil (1867), by William Holman Hunt. Oil on canvas, 23.86 by 15.24 in. (60.60 by 38.70 cm). (Photo: Wikimedia.org)
6. Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828 – 1882), Proserpine (1880)
Sotheby’s, London (2013): $ 5,279,476/£ 3,274,500 (Premium)
Proserpine (1880), by Dante Gabriel Rossetti. Colored chalks, 47.24 by 22.05 in. (120.00 by 56.00 cm). (Photo: Wikimedia.org)
5. Dante Gabriel Rossetti (1828 – 1882), A Christmas Carol (1867)
Sotheby’s, London (2013): $ 7,463,337/£ 4,562,500 (Premium)
A Christmas Carol, by Dante Gabriel Rossetti. Oil on panel, 17.91 by 14.96 in. (45.50 by 38.00 cm). (Photo: Wikimedia.org)
4. John William Waterhouse (1849 – 1917), St. Cecilia (1895)
Christie’s, London (2000): $ 9,013,200/£ 6,000,000
St. Cecilia (1895), by John William Waterhouse. Oil on canvas, 48 by 79 in. (121.92 by 200.66 cm). (Photo: Wikimedia.org)
3. Sir Edward Coley Burne-Jones (1833 – 1898), Love among the Ruins (1873)
Christie’s, London (2013): $ 22,527,130/£ 14,845,875 (Premium)
Love Among the Ruins (1873), by Edward Burne-Jones. Watercolor, 37.99 by 60.00 in. (96.50 by 152.40 cm) (Photo: Wikimedia.org)
2. Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema (1836 – 1912), The Meeting Of Antony And Cleopatra: 41 BC (1883)
Sotheby’s, New York (2011): $ 29,202,500/£ 17,802,060 (Premium)
The Meeting of Antony and Cleopatra: 41 BC (1883), by Lawrence Alma-Tadema. Oil on panel, 25 3/4 x 36 in. (65.5 by 91.4 cm). (Photo: Wikimedia.org)
1. Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema (1836 – 1912), The Finding of Moses (1904)
Sotheby’s, New York (2010): $ 35,922,500/£ 22,080,336 (Premium)
The finding of Moses sold for $ 2,500,000/£ 1,558,603 (Hammer) at Christie’s, New York in 1995.
The Finding of Moses (1904), Lawrence Alma-Tadema. Oil on canvas, 53.82 by 84.02 in. (136.70 by 213.40 cm). (Photo: Wikimedia.org)
This price list is not in perfect order because, as I noted at the outset, some prices are hammer price (the winning bid amount) and some include the premium (hammer price with an additional percentage charged by the auction house, plus taxes). But I’ve compiled the list using the best information available, and I hope you enjoy it!
© 2014 by Lucy Paquette. All rights reserved.
Related posts:
Tissot vs. Whistler, Degas, Manet & Morisot oils at auction
James Tissot oils at auction: Seven favorites
Kathleen Newton by James Tissot: eight auctioned oil paintings
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Illustrated with 17 stunning, high-resolution fine art images in full color
Courtesy of The Bridgeman Art Library
(295 pages; ISBN (ePub): 978-0-615-68267-9). See http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009P5RYVE.
