This is a list of the highest prices paid for paintings. Very valuable paintings, if sold,
are usually sold at auctions.
The world's most famous paintings, especially works done before 1800, are generally owned
by museums, which very rarely sell them, and as such, they are quite literally priceless. Guinness World Records lists the
Mona Lisa as having the highest insurance value for a painting in history.
It was assessed at US$100 million on December 14, 1962, before the painting toured the U.S.
for several months. However, the Louvre chose to spend the money that would have been spent on the insurance premium on security
instead.
Taking inflation into account, the 1962 value would be approximately US$670 million in 2006.
