Artist Ivan Marchuk set a personal record at a Sotheby's auction
A painting by the world-renowned Ukrainian artist Ivan Marchuk set a new personal auction record at a sale held by the prestigious auction house Sotheby's. The painting, titled "The Generous Planet," sold for 96,000 euros. The artist congratulated the new owner of the work and noted that until now, the painting had been in a private collection in the United States.
The iconic work was created by the artist in 1994 in Manhattan, New York, during his period of emigration to the United States. The still life was offered as Lot No. 19 as part of the large-scale Modern & Contemporary Discoveries auction, which took place from May 26 to June 2. The initial estimate for the painting ranged from 40,000 to 60,000 euros, but the final price during the auction significantly exceeded the expectations of experts and organizers.
Ivan Marchuk confidently holds the leading position and status as Ukraine’s most expensive contemporary artist, and his works enjoy steady demand among foreign investors. The genius’s body of work includes over 5,000 unique pieces, and the artist has more than 150 solo and about 50 group exhibitions worldwide to his credit. The Ukrainian artist’s canvases adorn leading museum halls and private collections in Europe, the U.S., and Australia.
The international success of “The Generous Planet” has added to the list of the artist’s most expensive masterpieces, for which collectors have previously paid significant sums at global and Ukrainian auctions. The landscape “The Moon Has Risen Over the Dnipro,” sold for $300,000 in June 2024, remains the absolute leader. The top five most valuable paintings also include “Breath of Spring” ($118,000), "Two Parallels" ($100,300), the famous "Golden Night" ($96,800), and the painting "Moonlit Night," which went under the hammer for $88,500 in March 2026. This latest success at Sotheby’s once again demonstrates the global art market’s high level of interest in Ukraine’s cultural heritage.
The artist himself announced this on his official Facebook page.
Works by Ivan Marchuk, an artist with a unique style whose paintings have found their way into museums around the world and have long been part of Ukrainian cultural identity, were once again exhibited in Kyiv.
