Record auction hammers and hushed private deals. From da Vinci's Salvator Mundi to Klimt's 2025 Sotheby's blockbuster, these are the highest prices ever paid for a single painting, at auction or in private sale.
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Record auction hammers and hushed private deals. From da Vinci's Salvator Mundi to Klimt's 2025 Sotheby's blockbuster, these are the highest prices ever paid for a single painting, at auction or in private sale.
Salvator Mundi (Leonardo da Vinci; $450.3M)
Leonardo's haunting depiction of Christ as Savior of the World shattered every record at Christie's in 2017, selling for $450.3 million to a buyer later linked to Saudi Arabia's crown prince. Its attribution remains debated, and the painting has not been publicly seen since.
Interchange (Willem de Kooning; ~$300M)
De Kooning's 1955 abstract landscape sold privately in 2015 for roughly $300 million, when hedge-fund billionaire Kenneth Griffin bought it from the David Geffen Foundation. It briefly held the title of most expensive painting ever sold.
The Card Players (Paul Cezanne; $250M+)
One of Cezanne's five canvases of Provencal peasants at cards, this version sold to the royal family of Qatar around 2011 for a figure reported above $250 million. The other four hang in major museums, leaving this the only one in private hands.
Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer (Gustav Klimt; $236.4M)
Klimt's shimmering portrait of a Viennese society daughter fetched $236.4 million at Sotheby's in November 2025, the highest price ever paid for a painting at auction. It came from the estate of cosmetics heir Leonard Lauder.
When Will You Marry? (Paul Gauguin; $210M)
Gauguin's vivid 1892 Tahitian scene, Nafea Faa Ipoipo, sold privately in 2014 for a reported $210 million. The deal between a Swiss family and Qatari buyers set a then-record for any painting.
Number 17A (Jackson Pollock; ~$200M)
A 1948 drip painting from Pollock's most celebrated period, sold by David Geffen to Kenneth Griffin in the same 2015 private deal that included the de Kooning. It ranks among the most expensive works of American art ever sold.
The Standard Bearer (Rembrandt; $198M)
Rembrandt's 1636 self-portrait as a flag-bearer was acquired by the Dutch state and the Rijksmuseum from the Rothschild family in 2021 for about $198 million. The purchase kept a national treasure in the Netherlands.
Shot Sage Blue Marilyn (Andy Warhol; $195M)
Warhol's 1964 silkscreen of Marilyn Monroe sold at Christie's in 2022 for $195 million, the most ever paid at auction for an American artwork and for any 20th-century work. Proceeds benefited a children's charity.
No. 6: Violet, Green and Red (Mark Rothko; $186M)
A 1951 color-field canvas that sold privately to Russian collector Dmitry Rybolovlev in 2014 for $186 million, brokered by the dealer at the center of the later Bouvier affair. It ranks among the priciest Rothkos ever.
Water Serpents II (Gustav Klimt; $183.8M)
Klimt's sensuous 1907 depiction of intertwined figures changed hands privately for $183.8 million in 2015. Its sale was tangled in the same Rybolovlev-Bouvier price dispute that shadowed several blue-chip works.
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