Ranking the Highest Auction Prices for Fine Art
Art auctions highlight what people value, chase, and often discuss. A single night at Sotheby’s or Christie’s can change market expectations or revive interest in a long-debated piece. Consequently, the highest auction prices typically reflect both artistic merit and the interplay of timing, scarcity, and intense competition.
Some works climbed the charts because of controversy, while others had clean provenance and museum-level appeal. What connects them is clear: once the bidding starts, prices stop making ordinary sense.
Salvator Mundi – $450.3 Million
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Da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi is well-known for breaking records. At Christie’s in 2017, it jumped from a $100 million opening bid to a jaw-dropping $450.3 million after fees. The piece’s authenticity remains debated, yet its connection to Leonardo sparked a surge in demand, and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ultimately purchased it.
Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer – $236.4 Million
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This 1914–16 Gustav Klimt portrait sold at Sotheby’s in 2025 for $236.4 million. It marked the highest auction price for modern art and was the most expensive work ever handled by Sotheby’s. Only two named Klimt commissions remain in private hands. That exclusivity helped drive a tense 20-minute bidding war.
Shot Sage Blue Marilyn – $195 Million
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The painting’s name traces back to a 1964 incident, when an artist fired a pistol at several Marilyn portraits in Warhol’s studio. This one was among them, and Larry Gagosian won the piece after spirited bidding. The sale had no financial guarantee, which made the final result even more striking in the current market.
Women of Algiers (Version O) – $179.4 Million
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Picasso painted the Women of Algiers series in 1954–55 as a response to Delacroix and in light of events in Algeria. Version O is considered the most intricate of the 15. It sold in 2015 at Christie’s for $179.4 million and had once been part of the Victor and Sally Ganz collection. Its sharp lines and electric palette captured a key moment in Picasso’s late-period development.
Nu Couché – $170.4 Million
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One detail that still grabs attention is how the buyer, Liu Yiqian, reportedly paid the full $170.4 million using an American Express card. The painting belongs to Amedeo Modigliani’s 1917 series of reclining nudes, a body of work so daring that police shut down its first Paris exhibition. With its stretched proportions and unflinching gaze, Nu Couché captures the visual language that would come to define Modigliani’s legacy.
Twelve Screens of Landscapes – $140.8 Million
Credit: Shanghai Daily
Qi Baishi’s twelve-panel landscape sparked an intense auction in 2017. More than 60 bids were placed within a 20-minute window, pushing the final price to $140.8 million. The work dates to 1925 and reflects the artist’s travels across China through expansive natural scenes. Each panel stands nearly six feet tall, and the complete set survived intact, which is rare and central to its value.
Pointing Man – $141.3 Million
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It had been in a private collection for 45 years before Giacometti’s Pointing Man appeared at Christie’s in 2015. The life-size bronze sold for $141.3 million, driven by its rarity and strong provenance. Giacometti made six casts in 1947, with most now held by museums. Standing just over five feet tall, the elongated figure reflects the artist’s distinct postwar style.
Three Studies of Lucian Freud – $142.4 Million
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A series of raw, twisted poses fills Francis Bacon’s 1969 triptych of fellow artist Lucian Freud. The panels had been separated by a dealer in the 1970s and remained apart for 15 years before being reunited in 1989. That reunion added both historical weight and collector interest and made the piece one of the evening’s most anticipated lots.
Les Poseuses (Small Version) – $149 Million
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Georges Seurat rarely shows up at major auctions, so when this 1888 painting came up in 2022, collectors paid attention. Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen had owned the work since the early 2000s. This version of Les Poseuses shows three nude figures and relates directly to Seurat’s larger, iconic La Grande Jatte.
Woman with a Watch – $139.3 Million
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Appearing at Sotheby’s in 2023, Picasso’s 1932 portrait of Marie-Thérèse Walter sold for $139.3 million. The item had changed hands only a few times before entering the Emily Fisher Landau collection in 1968. Walter, a central figure in Picasso’s life during the 1930s, features in many of his highest-valued works.