Last week saw Leonardo Da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi fetch a record-breaking $450.3 million ($400 million plus auction fees) at Christie’s. The latest theory is “...this is not another billionaire seized with an irrational exuberance who has made a nine-figure check, but two investment funds acting in concert and in connection with several major museums.” This line of thinking implies the purchase of the Salvator Mundi was a rational investment with an expected return.
My first thought? How many top works by the world’s most important female artists could you have purchased with $450 million? What if investors, museums, and collectors went in together on investing in art by women instead of a single Leonardo Da Vinci painting that few would argue is even his best work?
To state the obvious, auction values are a reflection of the bias of the collectors, not a reflection of the talent of the artists. That said, the work of female artists is woefully undervalued at auction. This is not a unique insight on my part.
I wanted to find out how many of the top works by preeminent female artists you could buy for the same $450M spent on Salvator Mundi so I created a list. At 300 artists, the total is just $369M, still $81M shy of $450M. Can you imagine a museum with the most important work by 300+ of our most significant artists? I’d get in line for that - you can keep the Salvator Mundi.
I’m sure I have left out many obvious and deserving women that should be on the list. Since we have another $81M before we hit the $450M spent on Salvator Mundi, tweet me @artnome if you have an artist I should add and we'll see how far we can grow the list.
I regularly have collectors/investors reaching out about data-driven analysis of the auction market. If like me you are optimistic about society moving towards gender equality, I can’t think of a better investment strategy than investing in female artists, past and present, regardless of motivations (love of art, return on investment, cultural status).
Below are some of my favorites artworks from artists on the list. In addition to the artists below, I'd recommend checking out: Marthe Donas, Fern Isabel Coppedge, Sigried Hjerten, Maria Marevna, and Francoise Gilot. The Atheneum's page on "artworks by female artists" is also a great place to discover new artists and was very helpful in compiling our list of 300. Last but not least, a huge thanks to Artnome's new Digital Collections Analyst Kaesha Freyaldenhoven for all her help in researching this article.
Hilma af Klint,
Born: October 26, 1862
Died: October 21, 1944
Hilma af Klint
The Ten Largest, No. 07, Adulthood, Group IV, 1907
315 X 235 cm
Tempera on paper on canvas
Hilma af Klint
The Swan, No. 17, Group IX/SUW, 1914
151.5 x 151 cm
Oil on canvas
Hilma af Klint
Altarpiece No. 1, 1915
237.5 x 179.5 cm
Oil and metal leaf on canvas
Marianne von Werefkin
Born: September 10, 1860
Died: February 6, 1938
Marianne von Werefkin
Corn Harvest, 1920
28.5 x 20.5 cm
Tempera on board
Marianne von Werefkin
Styx, 1910
56.1 x 74.6 cm
Oil on thin card laid down on cardboard
Marianne von Werefkin
Ameisenhaufen, 1916
43.8 x 46.9 cm
Oil and tempera on paper on board
Emily Carr
Born: December 13, 1871
Died: March 2, 1945
Emily Carr
Big raven, 1931
86.7 x 113.8 cm
Oil on canvas
Emily Carr
Odds and Ends, 1939
67.4 x 109.5 cm
il on Canvas
Emily Carr
Indian Church, 1929
108.6 x 68.9 cm
Oil on canvas
Vera Rockline
Born: 1896
Died: April 4, 1934
Vera Rockline
Environs de Tiflis
Oil on canvas
Vera Rockline
The Card Players, 1919
Oil on canvas
Vera Rockline
Oil on canvas
Mainie Jellett
Born: April 29, 1897
Died: February 16, 1944,
Mainie Jellett
Virgin and Child, 1936
61 X 46 cm
Oil on Canvas
Mainie Jellett
Flower Form, 1937
45.5 X 61 cm
Oil on cardboard
Mainie Jellett
Abstract Composition, 1937
76 X 76 cm
Oil on canvas
Paula Modersohn-Becker
Born: February 8, 1876
Died: November 21, 1907
Paula Modersohn-Becker
Old Peasant Woman in the Garden, 1906
95 X 78 cm
Tempera on canvas
Paula Modersohn-Becker
Self-Portrait, 1906-1907
Paula Modersohn-Becker
Girl with Stork, 1906