On this day in 1958, Godtfred Kirk Christiansen, submitted his design for interlocking molded plastic bricks to the patent office in Copenhagen. This was the birth of the modern Lego, the classic construction toy—and it is now celebrated as International Lego Day.

While originally intended as a children’s toy, Lego proved to have widespread appeal for all ages. And Christiansen’s design was remarkably versatile, expanding to a whole brick system that has sparked creativity across generations. Lego fans include artists such as Ai Weiwei, who has embraced the medium for over a decade, using more than 650,000 Lego pieces to recreate the monumental Water Lilies triptych by Claude Monet, among other works.

The company released its first Lego Art sets in August 2020, with four kits designed to be hung on the wall. Three of them featured artworks from pop culture—Lego pictures of Darth Vader, Iron Man, and the Beatles—but the fourth was a legitimate piece of art history, recreating Andy Warhol’s famed Marilyn Monroe silkscreen in four different colorways.

It was three years—and seven Lego Art sets—before Lego released another set in the series featuring a fine artist, with The Great Wave, the 1831 woodblock print by Japanese artist Hokusai, in January 2023.

Lego’s Vincent van Gogh Sunflowers set. Photo courtesy of Lego.

Since then, there have been more regular additions, with the Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci in October 2024, Robert Indiana’s LOVE in January 2025, and Vincent van Gogh’s Sunflowers, created in conjunction with the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam last March. The newest of the batch, a Dancing Figures set inspired by Keith Haring was released last May. There is also a second Van Gogh set that’s not officially part of the Lego Art series—featuring Starry Night, it was designed by a fan for the Lego Ideas portal, and produced as an official set in June 2022.

In honor of International Lego Day, I asked my brother, Matthew Cascone, to help me rank Lego Art sets, plus Starry Night. He is a noted “Adult Fan of Lego” (AFOL) who runs a Lego-themed Instagram, @mattsminifigs, featuring custom Lego minifigures themed to movies, television shows, wrestling, and more. We both rated each set out of five—him from the perspective of a Lego artist, rated in bricks (🧱), and me from the perspective of an art critic, rated in palettes (🎨).

Vincent van Gogh – Sunflowers

Lego’s Vincent van Gogh Sunflowers set. Photo courtesy of Lego.

Price: $199.99

Pieces: 2,615

🎨 2/5. This one is not my favorite. I think it is actually pretty ingenious in terms of coming up with pieces to recreate Van Gogh’s famed florals, but some of the magic of his loose, impressionistic brushstrokes gets lost here.

🧱 2.5/5. Kind of bland, expensive, boring frame, no minifig—Starry Night is the easy choice between the two.

Vincent van Gogh – The Starry Night

Lego’s Vincent van Gogh – The Starry Night kit. Photo courtesy of Lego.

Price: $169.99

Pieces: 2,316

🎨 4/5. This is and The Great Wave are the only art kits we have actually had the pleasure of building for ourselves. I had never attempted to make such a large, involved Lego set before, and I was overwhelmed by how long it took—way longer than the instructions indicated, and there were two of us! But the end result is super impressive: the swirling skies of Van Gogh’s most beloved masterpiece look surprisingly good in Lego form.

🧱 5/5. While a bit tedious of a build, it really pops out of the frame, and the minifig is the icing on top!

Hokusai – The Great Wave

The Hokusai – The Great Wave Lego set. Photo courtesy of Lego.

Price: $99.99

Pieces: 1,810

🎨  4.5/5. This is a very strong translation. The crest of the wave looks great in particular—this is an example of the 2-D image really coming to life in the relief sculpture. This might be the most beautiful of the bunch, and the one that I think I would be most likely to hang on my wall.

🧱 4.5/5. Looks great, great use of the pieces plus original parts, but the frame and border are rather uninspiring.

Leonardo da Vinci – Mona Lisa

Lego’s Leonardo da Vinci – Mona Lisa set. Photo courtesy of Lego.

Price: $99.99

Pieces: 1,503 (for the year Leonardo started the painting)

🎨 1/5. This one is easily the worst of the bunch for me. I can understand the impulse to want to include perhaps the world’s most famous painting in the Lego Art series, but I just don’t think this works. What makes the the Mona Lisa so captivating is her delicate features and enigmatic smile, the effect of which is totally lost in this block brick portrait. The heavy brow almost makes her look like a Neanderthal, and turning her image into a relief sculpture does nothing for the composition. I don’t know if it’s just the scale that made it harder to render the painting in Lego form, or if it was always going to be an impossible task to faithfully recreate Leonardo’s subtle Sfumato effects.

🧱 3/5. Beautiful frame, but the shading on the figure doesn’t translate well in my opinion. I also would have liked for them to have figured out the eyes and mouth without having to resort to printed pieces. Minifig would have been great too.

Andy Warhol – Marilyn Monroe

This Andy Warhol Marilyn Monroe kit is part of the LEGO Art series. Photo courtesy of LEGO.

Price: $119.99

Pieces: 3,341

🎨 3.5/5. Compared to the later Lego Art sets, this one feels a bit basic—which is perhaps understandable, given that the company was just beginning to explore the genre. The Marilyn Monroe heads are instantly recognizable, and Warhol’s high-contrast silk screens converts nicely into plastic Lego parts. It’s definitely a solid start, but not as creative as some of the other Lego art entries.

🧱 3/5. The translation is pretty solid, but I think I’d prefer a regular reproduction of the original if I was hanging one in my home. It’s a shame this is his only Lego set. They could do the Campbell’s Soup Can, and this set could have included a minifig of him or Marilyn to help drive sales.

Robert Indiana – LOVE

A couple builds Lego’s Robert Indiana LOVE set. Photo courtesy of Lego.

Price: $79.99

Pieces: 791

🎨 5/5. I appreciate Lego venturing out into sculpture here—although Indiana first designed this famous work as a Christmas card in 1965, before realizing it in 3-D form with Cor-ten steel in 1970. Obviously, the color palette is pretty basic, but Indiana’s stacked letters lend themselves perfectly to recreation in Lego brick. This was definitely a great idea for a Lego set, and super well executed.

🧱 5/5. Translates nearly perfectly, good size, good price, looks great anywhere. Hopefully is as sturdy as it looks.

Keith Haring – Dancing Figures

Lego’s Keith Haring – Dancing Figures set. Photo courtesy of Lego.

Price: $119.99

Pieces: 1,773

🎨 5/5. These look 100 percent perfect. Really just nailed it. Keith Haring is one of those artists who developed such a distinctive style that he’s kind of become a victim of his own success. You forget how original he was. But his figures are so cheerful and expressive even in their simplicity, radiating joy even through the dark days of the AIDS epidemic, which would ultimately claim the artist’s life. (Sadly, Lego did not acknowledge this aspect of the work in the kit.) I also love that you either hang these up, or display them on your shelves, if you are lacking in wall space. Full marks!

🧱 4/5. These really pop and bring Keith’s art to life. I just wish the stands were clear and not white. Alternatively, I would have loved one with a few less figures but on a black frame with just the figures outlined in white, like how Keith used to draw them with chalk in the subway. Also, he should have gotten a minifig!