Reproduction Masterpieces that You Can Own at Affordable Prices
How much would you pay for an oil painting? Or, how much could you pay? Probably not as much as some of these millionaires did, but they bought the originals. Masterpieces and popular artists' paintings come at a high price...some more than others.
In 2006, Ronald Lauder, a New York City Gallery owner paid $135 million dollars for a masterpiece by Austrian Symbolist painter, Gustav Klimt. The painting that he purchased was Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer which Klimt completed in 1907. Klimt was going through his Gold Period, and with the prominent use of gold leaf in his paintings were an instant success. His The Kiss is also from that same period, and it’s believed that Klimt was inspired by the mosaics he saw while staying in Ravenna and Venice. Adele Bloch-Bauer was the wife of an Austrian sugar industrialist, and she was the only model that Klimt painted a second time.
Pablo Picasso's Nude, Green Leaves and Bust sold for $106.5 million dollars in 2010. Picasso’s model for this piece was his lover Marie-Therese Walter and he painted it in 1932, in only one day’s time. Picasso’s paintings have sold for a record prices before, as the Boy with a Pipe sold in 2004 for what was then the highest sale price ever for a painting, $104.3 million. It is on show with other Picasso paintings that are owned by Tate Britain in London.
In 1990 another painting by a famous artist was sold for $82.5 million dollars to a Japanese businessman named Ryoei Saito. There are two versions of this painting, made by Vincent van Gogh, called the Portrait of Dr. Gachet. They are almost identical except for the different color scheme used; one now owned by Saito and the second portrait belongs to the Musée d’ Orsay in Paris. There was quite a stir when Saito had remarked that he’d like to have his van Gogh painting cremated along with him when he dies. The comment was withdrawn when Saito later made the announcement that it was just a compliment that he was paying to van Gogh as an artist and his affection for the painting he’d just purchased.
Pierre-Auguste Renoir’s works also belong in the group of highly desirable paintings. There are two versions of Renoir’s Bal au Moulin de la Galette, Montmartre that exist. A large piece that hangs in the Musée d’ Orsay and a smaller version that was bought by the same Japanese businessman who bought van Gogh’s Portrait of Dr. Gachet. Ryoei paid $78 million for his Renoir masterpiece in 1990. It goes without saying that Renoir’s painting may be in the same boat as van Gogh’s, and the art world will be watching on the day that Ryoei Saito is cremated.
Peter Paul Rubens has always had his name associated with the masters, and so it’s not a surprise that his Massacre of the Innocents was sold at auction for $76,600,000 in 2002. Rubens had painted his masterpiece in 1611, making it the oldest of the high-priced paintings sold at auction, and it went to billionaire Kenneth Thomson, 2nd Baron Thomson of Fleet, a Canadian businessman. He was the richest person in Canada and the 9th richest man in the world at the time. Thomson died in June 2006, having had the pleasure of owning his Rubens for almost four years.
You may have noticed that the price of famous paintings sold these days are getting higher and higher, and yes, inflation probably has its hand in that, but wow, look at the sale prices! These are wonderful and cherished paintings, and out of reach for all but the millionaires and billionaires. It doesn’t mean that you cannot enjoy your own reproduction painting in your own home or office. You can have one (or two) that is fully museum quality and just as magnificent as the original, at a price that you can afford. The hand painted oil reproduction painting that you buy today will assuredly increase in value, just as these original masterpieces have. These fabulous custom made reproductions are an affordable investment for art collectors, just like yourself.