Artists with valuable paintings.

Today's offers artists called.

Jackson Pollock or Paul Jackson Pollock (January 28, 1912 – August 11, 1956) was an influential American painter and a major figure in the abstract expressionist  movement. During his lifetime, Pollock enjoyed considerable fame and notoriety. He was regarded as a mostly reclusive artist. He had a volatile personality, sometimes struggling with alcoholism. In 1945, he married the artist Lee Krasner, who became an important influence on his career and on his legacy.

Pollock died at the age of 44 in an alcohol-related car accident. In December 1956, he was given a memorial retrospective exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City, and a larger more comprehensive exhibition there in 1967. More recently, in 1998 and 1999, his work was honored with large-scale retrospective exhibitions at MoMA and at The Tate in London.
In 2000, Pollock was the subject of an Academy Award–winning film Pollock directed by and starring Ed Harris.

No. 5, 1948 is a painting by Jackson Pollock, an American painter known for his contributions to the abstract expressionist movement. The painting was done on an 8' x 4' sheet of fiberboard, with thick amounts of brown and yellow paint drizzled on top of it, forming a nest-like appearance.It was originally owned by Samuel Irving Newhouse and displayed at the Museum of Modern Art before being sold to David Geffen and then allegedly to David Martinez in 2006 (though the supposed sale of this painting to Martinez has been denied by his attorneys) "This painting is most expensive now."

Top 10 Most Expensive Paintings

1. Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer by Gustav Klimt ($135,000,000)

The record-breaking sale - which followed a court order by the Austrian government to return the painting to Bloch-Bauer's heir - was the culmination of a years-long dispute over the painting looted by Nazis during World War II.

Painted by the art nouveau master Gustav Klimt in 1907, the portrait was purchased in 2006 by cosmetics heir Ronald S. Lauder.

        2. Nu au Plateau de Sculpteur (Nude, Green Leaves and   Bust) by Pablo Picasso ($106, 500,00) Created in a single day in March 1932, Picasso's painting set a world record auction price for a work of art at Christie’s in May 2010. The painting, more than 5 feet by 4 feet, shows Picasso’s mistress Marie-Thérèse Walter, both reclining and as a bust.

3. Garçon à la Pipe by Pablo Picasso ($104,100,000) Garçon à la Pipe was created during the artist's famous Rose Period, during which Picasso painted with a cheerful orange and pink palatte. The oil on canvas painting, measuring 100 × 81.3 cm (slightly over 39 × 32 inches), depicts a Parisian boy holding a pipe in his left hand.

The record price auction at Sotheby's New York on May 4, 2004 was a bit of a surprise to art buyers, since it was painted in the style not usually associated with the pioneering Cubist artist.

             
             4. Dora Maar with Cat by Pablo Picasso ($95,200,000)

Another big surprise followed in 2006, when this painting near doubled its presale estimate and fetched a record $95,200,000 at auction at Sotheby's on May 3, 2006.

Painted in 1941, Picasso's controversial portrait (one of his last) is sometimes described as an unflattering depiction of his mistress, Dora Maar, who was an artist/photographer and mistress of Picasso whose relationship lasted ten years during the 1930s and 40s.

       5. Portrait of Dr. Gachet by Vincent van Gogh ($82,500,000)

This painting by the Dutch Impressionist master Vincent van Gogh suddenly became world-famous when Japanese businessman Ryoei Saito paid $82.5 million for it at auction in Christie's, New York. Saito was so attached to the painting that he wanted it to be cremated with him when he died. Saito died in 1996 ... but the painting was saved.

6. Le Bassin Aux Nympheas by Claude Monet ($80,451,178)

Painted by the Impressionist master in 1919, it sold at Christie’s London auction house for a £40,921,250 pounds ($80,451,178) in June 2008, the highest price for a work of art sold by Christie’s in Europe. The estimate was £18–24 million. 

7. Bal Du Moulin de la Galette by Pierre-Auguste Renoir ($78,000,000)

Bal au moulin de la Galette, Montmartre was painted by French artist Pierre-Auguste Renoir in 1876. On May 17, 1990, it was sold for $ 78,000,000 at Sotheby's in New York City to Ryoei Saito, who bought it together with the Portrait of Dr Gachet (see above).

8. Massacre of the Innocents by Peter Paul Rubens ($76,700,000)

This painting by Peter Paul Rubens, painted in 1611, is the only painting in this list which was not painted in the 19th or 20th century. It was sold to Kenneth Thomson, 2nd Baron Thomson of Fleet for $ 76,700,000 at a 2002 Sotheby's auction.

         9. Portrait de l'Artiste sans Barbe by Vincent van Gogh ($71,500,000)

Portrait de l'artiste sans barbe ("Self-portrait without beard") is one of many self-portraits by Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh. He painted this one in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, France in September 1889. The painting is a oil painting on canvas and is 40 cm x 31 cm (16" x 13").

This is an uncommon painting since his other self-portraits show him with a beard. The self-portrait became one of the most expensive paintings of all time when it was sold for $71.5 million in 1998 in New York.

10. Rideau, Cruchon et Compotier by Paul Cézanne ($60,500,000) This painting by Paul Cézanne, painted in ca. 1893-1894, sold for $60,500,000 at Sotheby's New York on May 10, 1999 to "The Whitneys". Whitney, born into one of America's wealthiest families, was a venture capitalist, publisher, Broadway show and Hollywood film producer, and philanthropist.

A Gallery of Masterpieces

    One of the oldest and most famous museums in the world is the Uffizi Gallery, located in the palazzo in Florence which is called the Palazzo degli Uffizi. The reason why this gallery is so famous is because this is a gallery where you see a countless number of masterpieces.

    The gallery was built near the end of the 16th century by Cosimo I, who was the son of Granduca Francisco de' Medici, and it was designed by Vasari who was one of the top painters and architects in this period. This was done under the request of  Medici, which he actually planned as the building is right next to the Medici Palace and extends to the Arno river, over the Ponte bridge. But surprisingly it was built quickly, as there were other major events that were happening at the same time in the area such as the marriage between Francisco and the Giovanna of Austria.

    The collection of pieces actually began in 1574 when Cosimo I turned the second floor into a place where he could look at the pieces of art he had collected. He entrusted Buotalenti - the successor to Vasari - to put together all the pieces.

    The year of 1737 was an important year for the gallery, but more important for Florentine collections of art, as the Medici family was down to its last heiress. Anna Maria Luisa was the last remaining member of Medici family that still lived in the palace, but she was getting married to the king of Lorena, which meant she was going to move to France. Many thought this meant that a lot of art that in the gallery was going to be removed because of this. But that wasn't the case as she signed an agreement to keep all her artist's possession on display for the public to see in the gallery.

    Maybe this was a good thing as the gallery saw many changes after this, and while sadly some pieces of art had to be sold at the same time this saw the gallery get renovated with new staircases and hallways. Also many famous niobe pieces of art were moved from Rome to a specially created hall.

    Today in the gallery there are many facilities that help bring the best out of the works, like an arts restoration laboratory which looks to preserve and amend pieces of art that need a bit of sprucing up  to restore it to its original condition (well at least as best they can), also while the research does a bit of that as well it is more about finding out about piece of art or the period in which it was painted. The collections continue to grow, as there are now over 900 self portraits all in their own sector that have often brought in. They also have a gift shop that sells replicas of the pieces of art you see in the gallery, some of them are so close to the real thing that they wouldn't look out of place in one of the vintage Tuscany villas.