1 - Salvator Mundi by Leonardo da Vinci (450.3 million dollars)

A painting that continues to stir controversy: its authorship, as well as the financial arrangements that helped it reach such a record price, still raise many questions. This relatively modest work (65 × 45 cm) was offered for sale at Christie’s in New York in November 2017. It was finally knocked down for the staggering sum of 450.3 million dollars.

Officially, the identity of the buyer has never been confirmed. However, several press investigations have mentioned Mohammed bin Salman, the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, as the ultimate purchaser, acting through an intermediary. Around this painting, almost everything remains open to debate: its provenance, its attribution, and even its status within Leonardo’s oeuvre continue to fuel discussions among the world’s leading art historians.

2 - When Will You Marry? by Paul Gauguin (300 million dollars)

At Paul Gauguin’s death, this painting was sold for 7 francs. In 2015, the Emir of Qatar acquired it for 300 million dollars, making it the second most expensive artwork in all of history.

The painting came from the art collection of the industrialist Rudolf Staechelin (1881–1946). This highly colorful canvas measures 101 × 77 cm and was painted in 1892.

3 - Interchanged by Willem de Kooning (300 million dollars)

This 1955 painting could also have taken second place on the podium, as it too was sold for 300 million dollars in 2015. Unlike the two previous works, it was sold in a private transaction between two ultra-wealthy collectors: producer David Geffen (152nd richest person in the world) and businessman Kenneth Griffin.

David Geffen sold Kenneth Griffin two paintings for a total of 500 million dollars: this work by Willem de Kooning and another by Jackson Pollock.

4 - The Card Players by Paul Cézanne (250 million dollars)

Painted in 1895, this work by Paul Cézanne was also sold in a private transaction, from the heirs of the Greek shipping family Embiricos to the royal family of Qatar.

This masterpiece is one of five canvases Cézanne painted on this theme, and it is the last one to belong to a private owner. The other four versions are held by: the Courtauld Gallery in London, the Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia, the Musée d’Orsay in Paris, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

5 - Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer by Gustav Klimt (236.4 million dollars)

Painted between 1914 and 1916, the Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer is one of Gustav Klimt’s great full-length portraits, produced at the end of his golden period. It depicts Elisabeth Lederer, daughter of the collector and patron August Lederer, standing in a long white dress topped with a cape featuring Asian-inspired motifs, in front of a blue background adorned with small stylized figures.

The painting had been kept for decades in the private collection of cosmetics magnate Leonard A. Lauder in New York. On 18 November 2025, it was put up for sale at Sotheby’s, also in New York, in an evening auction devoted entirely to his collection. After some twenty minutes of bidding, it was sold for 236.4 million dollars (around 204 million euros on the day of the sale), far above its initial estimate, thus becoming the second most expensive artwork ever sold at auction, just behind Salvator Mundi.

This sale confirms the extreme rarity of Klimt’s major portraits still in private hands: most now belong to major international museums, which further reinforces the almost mythical status of this painting on the art market.

6 - Number 17A by Jackson Pollock (200 million dollars)

This painting by Jackson Pollock was one of two works sold in the private Geffen–Griffin deal in 2015.

This canvas is highly representative of Jackson Pollock’s art, a key figure of abstract expressionism. Kenneth Griffin is therefore the proud owner of two works featured in this Top 6.