HISTORY
There's a good chance the oldest known work of art is a seashell with zigzag markings carved by Homo erectus, an ancestor of ours. The seashell is estimated to be around 500,000 years old, which predates our own species, Homo sapiens, by a significant amount. Scientists believe the markings were deliberately etched and not just random damage. This finding pushes back our understanding of when humans, or our ancestors, engaged in symbolic expression and creativity.
Other early works of art are paleolithic animal paintings discovered in prehistoric caves in southern France and northern Spain.
Engravings at Cresswell Crags on the Nottinghamshire-Derbyshire border are the oldest known examples of rock art in Britain.
Ancient Chinese artists would never paint pictures of women's feet.
The idea of mixing two paint colors to produce a third is credited to the ancient Greek philosopher Plato.
The medieval church walls were covered in paintings, which, in a period of almost universal illiteracy were thought to be the poor man’s Bible. Later during the Reformation’s movement against icons they were covered in whitewash.
During the Renaissance era, artists could not show woman’s toes or bare feet in their paintings.
The Portrait of an African Man (see below) is a painting by Netherlands Renaissance painter Jan Mostaert. Mostaert done between circa 1520 and 1530. It was the first ever portrait of a black man in European painting.
The modern usage of the word “art” referring especially to painting, drawing, or sculpture emerged by c.1700.
Aquatint, a form of etching which gives a tonal effect like a wash drawing was perfected in France in 1768 by Jean-Baptiste Le Prince.
The genre of art known as Cubism derived its name from a belittling remark made by French artist Henri Matisse in reference to a Graque painting. Matisse said that the landscape looked as though it were wholly made up of little cubes.
Collage, a technique of picture-making in which pieces of paper, fabrics, or other materials are glued to the surface of the canvas collage, was introduced by the Cubists c.1912.
The famous French painting, Nude Descending a Staircase, by the French artist Marcel Duchamp, was displayed at an ‘Armory Show’ in New York City in 1913. The work was labelled as America’s first look at modern art. Critics called the work “scandalous” and “meaningless.
Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa was found in a hotel room in Florence on December 12, 1913, two years after being stolen from the Louvre in Paris by an Italian handyman.
Engravings at Cresswell Crags on the Nottinghamshire-Derbyshire border are the oldest known examples of rock art in Britain.
Ancient Chinese artists would never paint pictures of women's feet.
The idea of mixing two paint colors to produce a third is credited to the ancient Greek philosopher Plato.
The medieval church walls were covered in paintings, which, in a period of almost universal illiteracy were thought to be the poor man’s Bible. Later during the Reformation’s movement against icons they were covered in whitewash.
During the Renaissance era, artists could not show woman’s toes or bare feet in their paintings.
The Portrait of an African Man (see below) is a painting by Netherlands Renaissance painter Jan Mostaert. Mostaert done between circa 1520 and 1530. It was the first ever portrait of a black man in European painting.
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The modern usage of the word “art” referring especially to painting, drawing, or sculpture emerged by c.1700.
Aquatint, a form of etching which gives a tonal effect like a wash drawing was perfected in France in 1768 by Jean-Baptiste Le Prince.
The genre of art known as Cubism derived its name from a belittling remark made by French artist Henri Matisse in reference to a Graque painting. Matisse said that the landscape looked as though it were wholly made up of little cubes.
Collage, a technique of picture-making in which pieces of paper, fabrics, or other materials are glued to the surface of the canvas collage, was introduced by the Cubists c.1912.
The famous French painting, Nude Descending a Staircase, by the French artist Marcel Duchamp, was displayed at an ‘Armory Show’ in New York City in 1913. The work was labelled as America’s first look at modern art. Critics called the work “scandalous” and “meaningless.
Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa was found in a hotel room in Florence on December 12, 1913, two years after being stolen from the Louvre in Paris by an Italian handyman.
The Battle of Grunwald is a 1878 painting by Jan Matejko depicting the victory of the allied Crown of the Kingdom of Poland and Grand Duchy of Lithuania over the Teutonic Order in 1410. The work topped list of most wanted paintings by Nazis, whose aim was to destroy it. Goebbels offered a bounty of 10 million marks and several resistance members died protecting its location, but it survived the war.
Johannes Vermeer's painting The Concert was stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston in 1990 by thieves disguised as policeman. To this day the painting has not resurfaced; it is thought to be the most valuable work currently unrecovered, with a value estimated at over $200 million (£ 148 million).
An estimated $100 million of art was lost in the 9/11 attacks, including works by Pablo Picasso.
A painting looted by the Nazis, Max Liebermann’s 1901 Two Riders On A Beach, was sold at Sotheby’s for £1.865 million ($2.92 million) in June 2015. It was the first of more than 1,200 works found in the Munich apartment of German recluse Cornelius Gurlitt to be sold. Gurlitt’s father was an art dealer tasked by Hitler to plunder artworks from museums and Jewish collectors.
The English artist Graham Sutherland (1903-1980) was commissioned to paint Sir Winston Churchill’s portrait as an 80th birthday gift from MPs and Lords. Churchill hated the portrait calling it "filthy." After the public presentation, the painting was taken to his country home at Chartwell but was not put on display. After the death of Lady Churchill in 1977, it became clear that her secretary, Grace Hamblin, had organised for it to be taken from Chartwell in dead of night and burned.
A prop in the movie Stuart Little turned out to be a long-lost masterpiece after it was spotted in the background by an art expert watching the film. Sleeping Lady with Black Vase by Hungarian artist Robert Bereny fetched a price of 229,500 euros (£182,000; $285,700) at an auction after the painting was spotted in 2009 by Gergely Barki, a researcher at Hungary's National Gallery.
RECORDS
The largest art theft in US history took place on March 18, 1990, when 13 paintings, collectively worth around $500 million, were stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, Massachusetts.
Leonardo da Vinci’s portrait of Christ, Salvator Mundi, sold for a record-smashing $450.3 million (£341 million) on November 15, 2017 at Christie’s, New York making it the most expensive painting ever sold. Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Mohammed Al Farhan bought the work via telephone on behalf of the Abu Dhabi Department of Culture & Tourism after a protracted contest of nearly 20 minutes at the New York auction house.
Johannes Vermeer's painting The Concert was stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston in 1990 by thieves disguised as policeman. To this day the painting has not resurfaced; it is thought to be the most valuable work currently unrecovered, with a value estimated at over $200 million (£ 148 million).
An estimated $100 million of art was lost in the 9/11 attacks, including works by Pablo Picasso.
A painting looted by the Nazis, Max Liebermann’s 1901 Two Riders On A Beach, was sold at Sotheby’s for £1.865 million ($2.92 million) in June 2015. It was the first of more than 1,200 works found in the Munich apartment of German recluse Cornelius Gurlitt to be sold. Gurlitt’s father was an art dealer tasked by Hitler to plunder artworks from museums and Jewish collectors.
The English artist Graham Sutherland (1903-1980) was commissioned to paint Sir Winston Churchill’s portrait as an 80th birthday gift from MPs and Lords. Churchill hated the portrait calling it "filthy." After the public presentation, the painting was taken to his country home at Chartwell but was not put on display. After the death of Lady Churchill in 1977, it became clear that her secretary, Grace Hamblin, had organised for it to be taken from Chartwell in dead of night and burned.
A prop in the movie Stuart Little turned out to be a long-lost masterpiece after it was spotted in the background by an art expert watching the film. Sleeping Lady with Black Vase by Hungarian artist Robert Bereny fetched a price of 229,500 euros (£182,000; $285,700) at an auction after the painting was spotted in 2009 by Gergely Barki, a researcher at Hungary's National Gallery.
RECORDS
The largest art theft in US history took place on March 18, 1990, when 13 paintings, collectively worth around $500 million, were stolen from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston, Massachusetts.
Leonardo da Vinci’s portrait of Christ, Salvator Mundi, sold for a record-smashing $450.3 million (£341 million) on November 15, 2017 at Christie’s, New York making it the most expensive painting ever sold. Prince Badr bin Abdullah bin Mohammed Al Farhan bought the work via telephone on behalf of the Abu Dhabi Department of Culture & Tourism after a protracted contest of nearly 20 minutes at the New York auction house.
Salvator Mundi, had been sold previously for $127.5 million in 2014, before that for $75 million in 2013, and before that for less than $10,000 in 2005.
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| Leonardo da Vinci’s portrait of Christ, Salvator Mundi, |
Gustav Klimt's Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer (c. 1914–16) sold for $236.4 million at Sotheby's New York on November 18, 2025, setting a new record for modern art at auction, though it still sits well below Salvator Mundi's overall figure
Salvator Mundi, had been sold previously for $127.5 million in 2014, before that for $75 million in 2013, and before that for less than $10,000 in 2005.
Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures) is a large pop-art painting by the British artist David Hockney, completed in May 1972. On November 15, 2018 it was sold to an unknown buyer for $90.3 million at Christie's auction house in New York City, the highest ever price for a work by a living artist at auction.
The British Royal Family owns the largest private art collection in the world, spanning 13 residences and over one million works of art.
Sources Daily Mail, Huffington Post
Salvator Mundi, had been sold previously for $127.5 million in 2014, before that for $75 million in 2013, and before that for less than $10,000 in 2005.
Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures) is a large pop-art painting by the British artist David Hockney, completed in May 1972. On November 15, 2018 it was sold to an unknown buyer for $90.3 million at Christie's auction house in New York City, the highest ever price for a work by a living artist at auction.
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| David Hockney, Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures), 1972 |
The British Royal Family owns the largest private art collection in the world, spanning 13 residences and over one million works of art.
Sources Daily Mail, Huffington Post
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