ARTFEED — Contemporary Art Intelligence

2022 Auction Records: Warhol, Seurat, and the Paul G. Allen Collection Dominate

market-auction · 2026-04-27

In 2022, record-breaking revenues were achieved by global auction houses, particularly in New York and London. Significant sales included Andy Warhol's 'Shot Sage Blue Marilyn,' which fetched $195,040,000 at Christie's New York on May 9, bought by Larry Gagosian. The Paul G. Allen Collection at Christie's on November 9 featured remarkable prices: Georges Seurat's 'Les Poseuses, Ensemble' at $149,240,000, Paul Cézanne's 'La Montagne Sainte-Victoire' at $137,790,000, Vincent van Gogh's 'Verger avec cyprès' at $117,180,000, Paul Gauguin's 'Maternité II' at $105,730,000, Gustav Klimt's 'Birch Forest' at $104,585,000, and Lucian Freud's 'Large Interior, W11' at $86,265,000. Additionally, Warhol's 'White Disaster' sold for $85.4 million at Sotheby's, while Jean-Michel Basquiat's 'Untitled' went for $85 million at Phillips. René Magritte's 'L'empire des lumières' premiered at Sotheby's London on March 2 for $79,243,069.

Key facts

  • Andy Warhol's 'Shot Sage Blue Marilyn' sold for $195,040,000 at Christie's New York on May 9, 2022, becoming the most expensive 20th-century artwork at auction.
  • The buyer of Warhol's Marilyn was mega-gallerist Larry Gagosian.
  • Georges Seurat's 'Les Poseuses, Ensemble (Petite version)' sold for $149,240,000 from the Paul G. Allen Collection, tripling the artist's previous record.
  • Paul Cézanne's 'La Montagne Sainte-Victoire' from the Allen Collection sold for $137,790,000, acquired by Allen in 2001 for $38.5 million.
  • Vincent van Gogh's 'Verger avec cyprès' from the Allen Collection sold for $117,180,000, surpassing his 1990 record of $83 million.
  • Gustav Klimt's 'Birch Forest' from the Allen Collection sold for $104,585,000, the first Klimt over $100 million.
  • Jean-Michel Basquiat's 'Untitled' (1982) from Yusaku Maezawa's collection sold for $85,000,000 at Phillips New York on May 18, 2022.
  • René Magritte's 'L'empire des lumières' (1961) sold for $79,243,069 at Sotheby's London on March 2, 2022, tripling the artist's record.

Entities

Artists

  • Andy Warhol
  • Pablo Picasso
  • Georges Seurat
  • Paul Cézanne
  • Vincent van Gogh
  • Paul Gauguin
  • Gustav Klimt
  • Lucian Freud
  • Jean-Michel Basquiat
  • René Magritte

Institutions

  • Christie's
  • Sotheby's
  • Phillips
  • National Gallery of London
  • Magritte Museum
  • NABA

Locations

  • New York
  • London
  • Brussels
  • Asia
  • United States
  • United Kingdom
  • Belgium

Sources