4. THE MOST EXPENSIVE PAINTING OF ALL TIME
Artist: Vincent Van Gogh
Price tag: $82,500,000
Purchased: Christie's, New York (May 15th, 1990)
As you've probably gathered, old Vince was, like many great artists, just a tad loony. During one of his frequent stays in the nuthouse, he painted this touching picture of his doctor looking completely exhausted, presumably from chasing Vinnie around with a syringe.
Japanese businessman Ryoei Saito (who paid a mere $78.1 million for a Renoir two days later) claims the title for shelling out the most insane amount of money ever for a work of art. Mr. Saito himself could probably have benefited from some time under the care of the good Dr. Gachet. Right after purchasing this painting, he threatened to have it burned when he died, to prevent his heirs from having to pay a huge inheritance tax. He died six years later, and no one has seen Portrait of Dr. Gachet since.
So the question remains: did 80-plus million bucks worth of canvas and oil, slapped together by a lunatic, go up in smoke at the hands of another lunatic? Or was the painting simply sold to an "anonymous party?" We may never know.
