See Joe Bradley’s Top 10 Most Expensive Works at Auction

The stats behind his explosive rise, as he makes his Gagosian debut.

Joe Bradley. Photo: Patrick McMullan Company.

Joe Bradley’s meteoric rise will culminate on April 2 when the artist’s first solo exhibition at Gagosian opens in New York.

In advance to the artist’s exhibition on Madison Avenue, we’ve compiled his top ten most expensive artworks at auction, demonstrating just how quickly the abstract painter and sculptor’s work ascended to multi-million dollar stardom at evening auctions around the world.

joe bradley global aution sales volume

From the time that Bradley’s artworks first turned up at auction only a handful of years ago, the artist’s globe sales volume has skyrocketed from a modest $118,330 in 2010 to a staggering $9,953,800 in 2015.

Joe Bradley's average auction price has exceeded the mean estimate every year since 2010.

Since 2010 the average sale price for Bradley’s works at auction has always exceeded the mean estimate, and, of 51 total lots offered at auction between 2010 and 2015, only five went unsold. See what impressed bidder’s at Christie’s and Sotheby’s in the past few years below.

Joe Bradley’s top ten most expensive lots at auction:

Joe Bradley Tres Hombres (2011) Photo: Christie's

Joe Bradley Tres Hombres (2011).
Photo: Christie’s.

1. Tres Hombres (2011) sold for $3,077,000 at Christie’s, New York on November 10, 2015
Bradley’s top performing work changed hands at Christie’s postwar and contemporary art sale at the end of last year. The oversized oil on canvas is representative of the artist’s exuberant painting technique.

Joe Bradley Untitled (2011) Photo: Christie's

Joe Bradley Untitled (2011).
Photo: Christie’s.

2. Untitled (2011) sold for $1,584,484 at Christie’s, London on October 16, 2014
Almost a year before his record-setting sale, the artist’s ascent was preempted by a strong performance at Christie’s.

Joe Bradley Untitled (2011) Photo: Christie's

Joe Bradley Untitled (2011).
Photo: Christie’s.

3. Untitled  (2011) sold for $1,522,846 at Christie’s, London on October 16, 2015
A year later to the day he repeated the feat and recorded another seven figure sum for one-and-a-half million, only five months after reaching his first million dollar sale at auction.

Joe Bradley Police Painting 2 Photo: Phillips

Joe Bradley Police Painting 2 (2008).
Photo: Phillips.

4. Police Painting 2 (2008) sold for $1,205,000 at Phillips, New York on May 14, 2015
The first of Bradley’s works to surpass the magical $1 million dollar mark was hammered down at Phillips, cementing his place among the top up-and-coming artists in the contemporary art scene.

Joe Bradley All Duck (2010) Photo: Sotheby's

Joe Bradley All Duck (2010)
Photo: Sotheby’s

5. All Duck (2010) sold for $970,000 at Sotheby’s, London on November 11, 2015
Six months after breaking the $1 million mark and only a day after Bradley set his $3 million record price at Christie’s New York, the artist confirmed that he is no one-hit wonder by taking $970,000 at Sotheby’s in London.

Joe Bradley's Blonde (2011) sold for $965,000 at Christie's New York on the evening of May 12, 2014. Photo: Courtesy Christie's.

Joe Bradley’s Blonde (2011)
Photo: Courtesy Christie’s.

6. Blonde (2011) sold for $965,000 Christie’s, New York on May 12, 2014
Bradley almost joined the $1 million club when his canvas Blonde sold for $965,000 at Christie’s New York. The artist broke the barrier almost a year later to the day.

Joe Bradley Berlin Duck #2 (2011) Photo: Christie's

Joe Bradley Berlin Duck #2 (2011)
Photo: Christie’s

7. Berlin Duck #2 (2011) sold for $869,000 at Christie’s, New York on September 23, 2014
An eagle-eyed collector probably made a pretty penny speculating on this painting when he bought it from Berlin gallery Peres Project’s booth at the Art Berlin Contemporary in 2011, and flipped it for $869,000 at auction only four years later.

Joe Bradley Pig (2009) Photo: Phillips

Joe Bradley Pig (2009)
Photo: Phillips

8. Pig (2009) sold for $725,000 at Phillips, New York on May 14, 2015
Symptomatic of Bradley’s artistic diversity, the work depicting a crudely painted smiling pig. Phillips described it as a “visual revelation of primeval wisdom appearing from within the brazen, messy lines and the coarse textures.”

Joe Bradley Human Heart (2009) Photo: Christie's

Joe Bradley Human Heart (2009)
Photo: Christie’s

9. Human Heart (2009) sold for $701,000 at Christie’s, New York on November 13, 2014
A month after Bradley’s one-and-a-half million double whammy at Christie’s London in October 2014, he reached achieved the price of $701,000 at Christie’s New York.

Joe Bradley Muggles (2013) Photo: Christie's

Joe Bradley Muggles (2013)
Photo: Christie’s

10. Muggles (2013) sold for $682,500 at Christie’s New York on May 13, 2013
This was piece that started his ascent to the seven-digit club. Who would have thought that Bradley would go on to break the $3 million mark only two-and-a-half years later? The fact that Muggles was hammered down for almost six times its high estimate may have given a hint.


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