No. 5, 1948 painted by Jackson Pollock

Paul Jackson Pollock (January 28, 1912 - August 11, 1956), better known as Jackson Pollock, was a famous American painter and major work on vivid abstraction. He is known for his special ability in drift painting.

During his lifetime, Pollock was very famous. He was a great painter of his generation. Rather than being modest, he had an impulsive personality and struggled largely with alcoholism his entire life. In 1945, he married the painter Lee Krasner, who became an important inspiration in his career and legacy.

No. 5, 1948 is done on an 8' x 4' fiber board, with a thick amount of brown and yellow paint coated on top, forming a nest-like appearance. It was originally owned by Samuel Irving Newhouse, Jr. and was displayed at the Museum of Modern Art before being sold to David Geffen and then allegedly to David Martinez in 2006 (although the sale of this painting to Martinez was denied by his attorneys).

According to a report in The New York Times on November 2, 2006, the painting was sold by David Geffen, founder of Geffen Records and co-founder of Dreamworks SKG, to David Martinez, managing partner of Fintech Advisory Ltd. , in a private sale for an inflation-adjusted record price of $140 million.

Adjusted price: $148.1 Million | Original price: $140 Million