When Will You Marry?

When Will You Marry? is now considered one of the most valuable paintings in the world after a record-breaking private sale in 2015. Gauguin painted it in 1892, depicting two women — a young woman in European-influenced dress alongside a more traditionally dressed companion. The question posed by the title, directed presumably at the younger woman, frames the image within the social rituals of marriage and transition. Kunstmuseum Basel held the work for decades before it entered private ownership through a sale that drew global attention to Gauguin's Tahitian period.

The composition is tightly structured around two female figures set against a richly coloured background of pink flowers and green foliage. Gauguin distinguishes the women through dress and flower — the younger wears a white bloom in her hair.