Irises by Vincent van Gogh

Iris is one of many paintings about irises by Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh. The painting was painted while Vincent van Gogh was living in the asylum of Saint Paul-de-Mausole in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, France, in the last year of the artist's life.

The iris was painted before his first seizure in the asylum. The painting lacks the intense tension commonly found in his later works. He called the painting "a lightning rod for his illness", because he felt that he could stop himself from going crazy by continuing to paint.

In 1987, Iris became the most expensive painting ever sold at the time, setting a record that lasted for two and a half years. It was later sold for US$53.9 million to Alan Bond, but Bond did not have enough money to pay for the painting. The painting was later sold to the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles in 1990.

Adjusted price: $101.2 Million | Original price: $53.9 Million