The Painting That Set Marlene Dumas' Auction Record
3 min read · 17 Feb 2025
The visitor. Image courtesy of Sotheby's
Marlene Dumas, The visitor (1995), sold for $6.32m at Sotheby's in London on July 1, 2008. The oil on canvas work, one of her few large-scale paintings to appear at auction, had been traded once before.
In 2015, Dumas told The Guardian why she had mixed feelings when she became briefly the world’s most expensive living female artist. "It had a strange force. In South Africa, you weren’t proud to be an artist: it felt egocentric," she said. "I was a bit ashamed. The attitude... was: that’s just a drawing."
Dumas' gallery, David Zwirner, reportedly sold her painting The Schoolboys (1986-87) for $9m at Art Basel in Miami Beach in 2024.
Teacher. Image courtesy of Christie's
The sale beat Dumas' previous auction record by $3.35m, a 100% rise. Her previous record was set by Teacher (1987), which sold for $2.97m at Christie's on February 9, 2005.
A Brief History of Marlene Dumas at Auction
Sale Date | Title | Price | Record Increase | Venue | City |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2008-07-01 | The visitor | $6.32m | 113 % | Sotheby's | London |
2005-02-09 | Teacher | $2.97m | 170 % | Christie's | London |
2004-11-10 | Jule-die vrou | $1.1m | 25 % | Christie's | New York |
2004-05-13 | Young boys | $880,000 | 57 % | Phillips de Pury & Company | New York |
2004-05-11 | Dance | $560,000 | 93 % | Christie's | New York |
2003-11-11 | Wet Dreams | $290,000 | 9 % | Christie's | New York |
2003-06-26 | Feathered Stola | $266,300 | 534 % | Christie's | London |
2002-11-14 | Candle burning | $42,000 | 30 % | Christie's | New York |
1995-11-30 | Magdalena Glorious Venice | $32,400 | - | Sotheby's | Zurich |
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