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The most expensive Turner ever sold

The most expensive Turner ever sold is Rome, from Mount Aventine: $47.4 million at Sotheby's London in 2014. Famous works such as The Fighting Temeraire, Rain, Steam and Speed and The Slave Ship are in public collections, so they are not for sale and have no price.

Lived
1775–1851
From
English
Movement
Romanticism
Worked in
London · Rome
Portrait of J. M. W. Turner
Turner's record$47.4MRome, from Mount Aventine · 2014

Turner's famous works and their prices

  • The Fighting Temeraire by J. M. W. TurnerThe Fighting Temeraire1839 · National Gallery, LondonNot for sale
  • Rain, Steam and Speed by J. M. W. TurnerRain, Steam and Speed1844 · National Gallery, LondonNot for sale
  • The Slave Ship by J. M. W. TurnerThe Slave Ship1840 · Museum of Fine Arts, BostonNot for sale
  • Snow Storm: Hannibal and His Army Crossing the Alps by J. M. W. TurnerSnow Storm: Hannibal and His Army Crossing the Alps1812 · Tate Britain, LondonNot for sale
  • The Burning of the Houses of Lords and Commons by J. M. W. TurnerThe Burning of the Houses of Lords and Commons1835

“Not for sale” means a public collection holds the work. Prices are nominal US dollars as reported at the time.

Turner next to other artists

Each artist's highest documented sale, from the same research.

  1. Rubens$76.7MMassacre of the Innocents · 2002
  2. Manet$65.1MLe Printemps · 2014
  3. Caillebotte$53MJeune homme à sa fenêtre · 2021
  4. Raphael$47.9MHead of an Apostle, black chalk study for the Transfiguration · 2012
  5. Turner$47.4MRome, from Mount Aventine · 2014
  6. Rousseau$43.5MLes Flamants · 2023
  7. Degas$41.6MPetite danseuse de quatorze ans · 2022
  8. Constable$35.2MThe Lock · 2012
  9. Pissarro$32.1MLe Boulevard Montmartre, matinée de printemps · 2014

Bars are to scale within this list. Source for Turner's record: guinnessworldrecords.com.

About J. M. W. Turner

English Romantic landscape and marine painter whose handling of light, storm and atmosphere pushed painting towards abstraction. He entered the Royal Academy schools in 1789 at the age of fourteen and was elected a full Academician in 1802, then travelled and sketched across Britain, the Alps and Italy for the rest of his life. His late canvases dissolve ships, fire and sunlight into loose veils of colour, and were later read as a forerunner of Impressionism. He died in 1851, leaving around 300 oil paintings and some 30,000 works on paper to the nation.

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Art Scanner result for the Mona Lisa with its $100M insured value tag
The Mona Lisa in Art Scanner: insured value $100M

Questions

What is the most expensive Turner ever sold?

Rome, from Mount Aventine, which sold for $47.4 million at Sotheby's London in 2014. Prices are nominal US dollars as reported at the time.

How much is a Turner painting worth?

It depends on the work. The highest documented sale is $47.4 million for Rome, from Mount Aventine. Works in public collections are not for sale.

Where can I see Turner's paintings?

Among the works here: the National Gallery, London, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and the Tate Britain, London.

Who was J. M. W. Turner?

J. M. W. Turner (1775–1851). English Romantic landscape and marine painter whose handling of light, storm and atmosphere pushed painting towards abstraction. He entered the Royal Academy schools in 1789 at the age of fourteen and was elected a full Academician in 1802, then travelled and sketched across Britain, the Alps and Italy for the rest of his life. His late canvases dissolve ships, fire and sunlight into loose veils of colour, and were later read as a forerunner of Impressionism. He died in 1851, leaving around 300 oil paintings and some 30,000 works on paper to the nation.

Other artists