I got an email newsletter today with the headline “Most Expensive Art Sold in 2020.” I’ll admit, at first I felt like someone needed to read the room – given everything going on in the world at the moment and the number of people who’ve lost their jobs due to the pandemic, it just isn’t the right time to be glorifying Blue Chip art purchases.

But one aspect of this article piqued my curiosity: what kinds of artworks were most compelling to collectors this year? Given the large selection of artworks offered at auction in 2020, which images drew the most attention?

If you’d like to learn more about the actual sales and additional details about the individual artworks, feel free to read the Artsy article here. In the meantime, enjoy this collection (in no particular order) of some of the artworks that spoke to collectors at auction last year.

David Hockney

David Hockney, Nichols Canyon, 1980. Courtesy of Phillips.

Brice Marden

Brice Marden, Complements, 2004–07. Courtesy of Christie’s Images Ltd. 2020.

Barnett Newman

Barnett Newman, Onement V, 1952. Courtesy of Christie’s Images Ltd. 2020.

Ren Renfa

Ren Renfa, Five Drunken Princes Returning on Horseback, n.d. Courtesy of Sotheby’s. This painting measures nearly seven feet long.

Cy Twombly

Cy Twombly, Untitled [Bolsena], 1969. Courtesy of Christie’s Images Ltd. 2020.

Roy Lichtenstein

Roy Lichtenstein, Nude with Joyous Painting, 1994. Courtesy of Christie’s Images Ltd. 2020.

Mark Rothko

Mark Rothko, Untitled, 1967. Courtesy of Christie’s Images Ltd. 2020. This was one of Rothko’s last paintings, completed just after his works for the Rothko Chapel in Houston, Texas.

Francis Bacon

Francis Bacon, installation view of Triptych Inspired by the Oresteia of Aeschylus, 1981, in the June 19 Evening Sale at Sotheby, 2020. Photo by Cindy Ord. Image via Getty Images.

Wu Bin

Wu Bin (Ming Dynasty), Handscroll of Ten Views of Lingbi Rock, 1610. Courtesy of Poly Auction.

Sanyu

Sanyu, Quatre nus, 1950s. Courtesy of Sotheby’s. Sanyu was known as the “Chinese Matisse.”