The ten highest known prices paid for artworks at auction or in private sales, in nominal U.S. dollars, led by Leonardo's Salvator Mundi at $450.3 million.
Salvator Mundi — Leonardo da Vinci sold for $450.3 million at Christie's New York in 2017, the highest known price for an artwork. Willem de Kooning's Interchange is second at a reported $300 million and Paul Cézanne's The Card Players third at a reported $250 million or more. Prices are nominal US dollars from Wikipedia's List of most expensive paintings, as of October 2026.
The highest prices ever paid for art combine two very different kinds of sale. Auction prices, such as the $450.3 million paid for Salvator Mundi in 2017 or the $236.4 million for Klimt's Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer in 2025, are public record. Private sales are not: their prices come from press reports, participants or court cases, and are estimates. All ten of the highest known prices are for paintings. Seven of the ten are private sales; six of those prices are press-reported estimates rather than confirmed figures, and each entry is labelled accordingly. The ranking uses the nominal price at the time of sale; it is not adjusted for inflation.
Sold at Christie's New York on November 15, 2017 for $450.3 million including buyer's premium, the highest price ever paid for a painting. The seller was Dmitry Rybolovlev and the buyer of record Prince Badr bin Abdullah Al Saud. Its attribution to Leonardo is disputed by some scholars.
De Kooning's 1955 abstraction was sold privately by the David Geffen Foundation to hedge fund manager Kenneth C. Griffin in 2015 for a reported price of about $300 million. The figure has not been officially confirmed and is an estimate.
One of Cézanne's Card Players paintings was sold privately by the collector George Embiricos to the State of Qatar in 2011 for a reported price of more than $250 million. The price has not been officially confirmed and is an estimate.
Klimt's life-size portrait of Elisabeth Lederer, from the estate of collector Leonard Lauder, sold at Sotheby's New York on November 18, 2025 for $236.4 million, the highest price for a work of modern art at auction and the second-highest auction price for any artwork, behind Salvator Mundi.
Gauguin's 1892 Tahitian painting, on loan to the Kunstmuseum Basel for nearly half a century, was sold privately by the family of Rudolf Staechelin to Qatar for close to $210 million in a deal reported in February 2015. The price is a reported estimate.
Pollock's 1948 drip painting was sold privately by the David Geffen Foundation to Kenneth C. Griffin in 2015 for a reported price of about $200 million, in the same deal as de Kooning's Interchange. The price is a reported estimate.
Rembrandt's 1636 painting was bought from the Rothschild family by the Dutch state for the Rijksmuseum for €175 million, about $198 million, in 2022.
Warhol's 1964 silkscreen portrait of Marilyn Monroe, sold by the foundation of Thomas and Doris Ammann, fetched $195 million at Christie's New York on May 9, 2022; the buyer was dealer Larry Gagosian. It remains the highest auction price for a work by an American artist. It is one of the Shot Marilyns, a stack of canvases that performance artist Dorothy Podber fired a revolver through in 1964; the damage was later repaired.
Rothko's 1951 painting was sold privately by Cherise Moueix to Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev through dealer Yves Bouvier in 2014 for a reported €140 million (about $186 million). The price is a reported estimate.
Klimt's painting, seized by the Nazis from its Jewish owner Jenny Steiner and later sold under a settlement with her heirs, was sold privately by dealer Yves Bouvier to Dmitry Rybolovlev in 2013 for a reported $183.8 million. Rybolovlev resold it in 2015 for a reported $170 million to an undisclosed buyer. Both prices are reported estimates.
| # | Name | Date of sale | Sale type | Price status | Painted |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Salvator Mundi — Leonardo da Vinci | November 15, 2017 | Christie's, New York (auction) | Confirmed auction price | c. 1500 |
| 2 | Interchange — Willem de Kooning | September 2015 | Private sale | Reported estimate (about $300 million) | 1955 |
| 3 | The Card Players — Paul Cézanne | April 2011 | Private sale | Reported estimate (more than $250 million) | 1892/93 |
| 4 | Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer — Gustav Klimt | November 18, 2025 | Sotheby's, New York (auction) | Confirmed auction price | 1914–1916 |
| 5 | Nafea Faa Ipoipo (When Will You Marry?) — Paul Gauguin | 2014–2015 | Private sale | Reported estimate (close to $210 million) | 1892 |
| 6 | Number 17A — Jackson Pollock | September 2015 | Private sale | Reported estimate (about $200 million) | 1948 |
| 7 | The Standard Bearer — Rembrandt | February 2022 | Private sale | Stated price €175 million (dollar figure is a conversion) | 1636 |
| 8 | Shot Sage Blue Marilyn — Andy Warhol | May 9, 2022 | Christie's, New York (auction) | Confirmed auction price | 1964 |
| 9 | No. 6 (Violet, Green and Red) — Mark Rothko | August 2014 | Private sale | Reported estimate (€140 million, about $186 million) | 1951 |
| 10 | Water Serpents II — Gustav Klimt | 2013 | Private sale | Reported estimate (about $183.8 million) | 1904–1907 |
Items are ranked by the reported price at the time of sale in nominal U.S. dollars (not inflation-adjusted), including buyer's premium for auction sales. Sales in other currencies use the dollar figure given in the source. All prices and sale details come from one source: the 'Original (million USD)' column of Wikipedia's List of most expensive paintings (permanent revision 1380318638), which includes both auction and private sales. Auction prices (Salvator Mundi, Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer, Shot Sage Blue Marilyn) are public record. The Standard Bearer's price is given in the source in euros (€175 million), converted to about $198 million. The other private-sale prices are press-reported estimates and are labelled 'Reported estimate'. Sales up to October 2026 are considered; prices are not adjusted for inflation, and the inflation-adjusted order in the source differs. No sculpture has sold for more than the tenth-ranked price. Rank 1 is the highest price.
Salvator Mundi, attributed to Leonardo da Vinci, sold for $450.3 million at Christie's New York on November 15, 2017. No other known sale has exceeded $300 million.
Auction prices are public record, including the buyer's premium. Private-sale prices rely on press reports, participants or court cases and are estimates; each private sale on this list is labelled with its price status.
Jackson Pollock's Number 7A sold at Christie's New York in May 2026 for $181.2 million, and Rembrandt's pendant portraits of Maerten Soolmans and Oopjen Coppit were bought jointly by the Rijksmuseum and the Louvre for $180 million (€160 million) in 2016.
The highest price paid for a sculpture is $141.3 million, for Alberto Giacometti's L'Homme au doigt at Christie's New York in May 2015, according to Wikipedia's List of most expensive sculptures. That is below the tenth-ranked price here.
On this list, buyers include the State of Qatar (The Card Players, Nafea Faa Ipoipo), hedge fund manager Kenneth C. Griffin (Interchange, Number 17A), Dmitry Rybolovlev (No. 6 and Water Serpents II), and the Dutch state for the Rijksmuseum (The Standard Bearer).
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