A lot of people want to know what's selling best because it gives them an idea of what's trendy, what's hip, what's cool and what their respective peer groups are going to enjoy.
This is especially true in the business world where offices have to keep up with the latest interior decor trends and maintain a sense of modern quality to impress customers and clients... a lot of business owners like to make sure they're up to speed.
By tracking sales statistics, OverstockArt.com is able to compile data allowing them to create the list.
In 2007 OverstockArt.com sold more then 80,000 oil paintings. They are considered by many to be the "Amazon" of hand painted art on the web. With over 5,000 daily visitors and 20,000 loyal customers, they have a unique perspective on what's hot in the art world.
The Top 10 oil paintings sold online according to OverstockArt.com are:
1. Starry Night - Vincent Van Gogh
2. The Kiss - Gustav Klimt
3. Cafe Terrace at Night - Vincent Van Gogh
4. Poppy Field at Argenteuil - Claude Monet
5. Persistence of Memory - Salvador Dali
6. The Dream - Pablo Picasso
7. The Mona Lisa - Leonardo Da Vinci
8. Irises - Vincent Van Gogh
9. Sunflowers - Vincent Van Gogh
10. Farbstudie Quadrate - Wassily Kandinsky
It's interesting to see how the old masters are still the most sought after artists even on the web. Vincent Van Gogh's Starry Night is the most popular oil painting on the planet according to these statistics. The numbers indicate that Van Gogh is the most popular artist as well; his sales figures simply left everyone behind.
Gustav Klimt, arguably the "rising star" of the last few years has made it to the number two spot on the list with his oil painting, The Kiss, a coveted and desirable oil painting full of life and passion.
The second most popular artist is another Impressionist - Claude Monet. Works like "Poppy Field at Argenteuil" and "Artist's Garden at Giverny" are still highly popular.
One painting that lagged in popularity compared to last year was Da Vinci's Mona Lisa which a year before was one of the top three most popular oil paintings. In 2007 it dropped to number seven. This could be explained by Dan Brown's "Da Vinci Code" craze sweeping the nation for the last few years that cooled off finally in 2007.
Wrapping up the top 10 are the Modern works of Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali and Wassily Kandinsky.
