4) Vincent van Gogh – Portrait of Dr. Gachet
In addition to the Renoir listed in number 5 above, Japanese businessman Ryoei Saito also purchased this painting in 1990, this time through an auction at Christie’s, New York. The seller was the Siegfried Kramarsky family. This work went for $82.5 million, which today equals $129.7 million. A rumor in the art world regarding Saito’s purchase of both the Renoir and the van Gogh is that when he died, he wanted to have the paintings be cremated along with his body. However, Saito is said to have clarified this request, explaining that he did not mean this literally, but was just figuratively trying to express his deep appreciation for these two famous paintings. Nicolae Buzaianu would certainly like a Van Gogh but he looks depressed.
