The Most Expensive Artworks That Celebrities Own

TrendingJune 27, 2022

Kanye West & Kim Kardashian – “Roden Crater” by James Turrell ($10 Million)

Now divorced, Kanye West and Kim Kardashian once reigned as one of the world’s most influential power couples. In 2022, Kanye praised Kim’s newest Vogue cover appearance, showing there’s no bad blood between the two. And while every Kardashian photoshoot is an artwork in itself, it’s still no match to Kanye and Kim’s outstanding art collection.

The ex-couple often collaborated with high-end artists such as Kerry James Marshall, George Condo, and Jurgen Teller. Yet perhaps the crown jewel of their art collection is Kanye’s $10 million acquisition of an ambitious artwork by James Turrell. The breathtakingly conceptualized piece, titled “Roden Crater,” is set on the top of an extinct volcano!

Sean “Diddy” Combs – “Past Times” by Kerry James Marshall ($21.1 Million)

In 2022, the American rapper/record producer Sean “Diddy” Combs sold his Toluca Lake home for $6.5 million. While the sum is impressive, it’s pennies when compared to the astounding amount the “Bump Bump Bump” singer invested in acquiring “Past Times,” a painting by the celebrated American artist Kerry James Marshall.

Said to be quite an avid art collector, Combs came across the piece at an auction of Marshall’s catalog. After outbidding all his competitors who also wanted the painting by one of the best African-American painters of all time, Combs finally walked away with his prize. The price tag? An eye-watering $21.1 million!

Ellen DeGeneres & Portia de Rossi – “Ovine Sheep Pieces” by François-Xavier Lalanne ($1 Million)

Featured in the 2022 documentary “Celebrating Betty White: America’s Golden Girl,” the TV host Ellen DeGeneres is said to be an avid art collector. Ellen and her wife Portia de Rossi invested millions in pieces made by artists as renowned as Diego Giacometti and Ruth Asawa. But in 2020, the power couple decided to auction off $10 million worth of artwork from their private collection.

The auction’s standout artwork was “Ovine Sheep Pieces,” a series of sheep sculptures produced by François-Xavier Lalanne that outlets such as Mirror described as “bizarre.” Lalanne’s high-end sheep retail from 500K to as much as $1 million apiece.

Swizz Beatz & Alicia Keys – “An Assistance of Amber” by Lynette Yiadom-Boakye ($500K)

Recently featured in a 2022 episode of “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” the American singer Alicia Keys has been married to the American record producer Swizz Beatz since 2010. More than two music giants, Keys and Swizz Beatz make for one of the most powerful African-American couples in the world. So it makes sense that their pushing for the appreciation of African-American art.

Keys and Swizz Beatz are said to have a huge art collection, and one of their standout pieces is the painting “An Assistance of Amber,” by the British painter/writer Lynette Yiadom-Boakye. They invested a reported $500K to get their hands on the piece.

Sir Elton John – “Glass Tears” by Man Ray ($166K)

He may have mispronounced the name of the city he was playing at during his 2022 Kansas City T-Mobile Center center, but all is forgiven when you’re the one-and-only Sir Elton John! In addition to being one of the most prolific singer-songwriters of the 20th century, the “Tiny Dancer” singer is also an avid collector of high-end art, with a particular taste for modernist photography.

John’s extensive collection was even featured at Tate Modern, in an exhibition titled “The Radical Eye: Modernist Photography from the Sir Elton John.” His most precious piece? Man Ray’s “Glass Tears,” which he bought for roughly $166K at a 1993 Sotheby’s auction.