Top Twenty Prints of All Time

Note: for the most updated 2024 Warhol market data, click here.

The rankings of the twenty most valuable Warhol prints ever sold reveal a market that has undergone a remarkable transformation in recent years. While top print sales were once scattered across multiple years, a striking shift occurred in 2022, when seventeen of the top twenty sales took place in that year alone. This surge reflected a decisive upward movement in the top tier of the Warhol print market.

One of the most notable rivalries in Warhol’s print sales has been between Queen Elizabeth II and Marilyn Monroe, both vying for the most valuable Warhol print on and off since 2010. 2022 brought another celebrity onto the scene: Mickey Mouse. And throughout 2022, the title passed between Double Mickey Mouse and Queen Elizabeth several times, crescendoing toward the end of the year. Queen Elizabeth set a new record in September of $641,569. Double Mickey Mouse beat that in October, with a sales price of $819,000. And Queen Elizabeth had the last word in November, with a decisive top-selling price of $855,602. The dramatically rising values of both prints resulted in an unprecedented increase in the average of the top three most valuable prints sold.

The top seven prints of all time share the distinction of being diamond dust versions, a luxurious embellishment that Warhol applied to select works. On top of that, every Double Mickey Mouse print is unique, inherently giving it an edge over prints. As for the Marilyns, only three of the ten unique prints in the portfolio sold. One is the striking black-and-white version—singular in its absence of color.

While the rankings usually included a variety of prints, eleven of the top twenty in 2022 were Queen Elizabeth prints. In 2023, two more Queen Elizabeth prints entered the rankings, securing the 9th and 20th spots and further solidifying the dominance of the figurehead in Warhol’s print market.

2024 saw further shifts, most notably with a Double Mickey Mouse print selling for $630,000, securing fourth place and reinforcing the print’s status as one of Warhol’s most valuable. But breaking the pattern of Queen Elizabeth, Marilyn, and Mickey Mouse prints dominating the rankings, a solitary Moonwalk print entered the middle of the top 20, landing at 10th place with a sale price of $480,696—an unexpected but fitting nod to Warhol’s fascination with American icons.

The following images of the top twenty most valuable Warhol prints ever sold are full of repeat images of three celebrities—and now, an astronaut—a celebration of the immortality of each subject and an homage of its own to Warhol’s art.