This vibrant, sensual canvas depicts Picasso's muse and lover Marie-Thérèse Walter reclining beneath the shadow of a plaster bust, characterised by the lush, rhythmic lines and intense colours that mark the most successful period of his liaison with Walter in 1932. The painting’s sale was a major signal of the robustness of the art market at the time, demonstrating the sustained, sky-high value of Picasso’s intimate portraits from his "Golden Muse" period.placeholder image
This vibrant, sensual canvas depicts Picasso's muse and lover Marie-Thérèse Walter reclining beneath the shadow of a plaster bust, characterised by the lush, rhythmic lines and intense colours that mark the most successful period of his liaison with Walter in 1932. The painting’s sale was a major signal of the robustness of the art market at the time, demonstrating the sustained, sky-high value of Picasso’s intimate portraits from his "Golden Muse" period. | Leon Neal/Getty Images

The 13 most expensive artworks sold at auction, as Gustav Klimt fetches over $200 million

Benjamin Jackson
By Benjamin Jackson

Reporter

Published 19th Nov 2025, 12:13 GMT

The fiercely fought auction was completed after a 20-minute bidding war amongst six different bidders

A work by Austrian painter Gustav Klimt has become the second most expensive artwork sold at auction after Tuesday evening (November 18).

The work, ‘Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer,’ was sold during a 20-minute bidding war among six different bidders for the total of $236.4 million (£179 million), surpassing the pre-auction estimate of $150 million.

The artwork was looted by the Nazis and narrowly escaped destruction in a fire during WWII, and was returned to the Lederer family (specifically Erich Lederer) in 1948 before being sold in 1983. The painting was part of the private collection of Estée Lauder heir Leonard A. Lauder since 1985.

Several other Klimt works from Lauder's collection, including landscapes, sold for between $60 million and $80 million each at the same event.

Here are the 13 most expensive works of art ever sold at auction—a stunning look into the world's billion-dollar art market, and who Klimt surpassed to achieve the feat.

This magnificent set of twelve hanging ink scrolls, dating from 1925, stands as the most valuable Chinese artwork ever sold at auction, depicting a vast array of landscapes, including towering mountains, misty forests, and quaint fishing villages in the artist’s distinct Honghua (red flower) style. The sale represented a major moment in the global art market, setting a benchmark for the value and international appreciation of 20th-century Chinese ink art masters.

7. Qi Baishi - Twelve Landscape Screens ($140.8 Million)

This magnificent set of twelve hanging ink scrolls, dating from 1925, stands as the most valuable Chinese artwork ever sold at auction, depicting a vast array of landscapes, including towering mountains, misty forests, and quaint fishing villages in the artist’s distinct Honghua (red flower) style. The sale represented a major moment in the global art market, setting a benchmark for the value and international appreciation of 20th-century Chinese ink art masters. | STR/AFP via Getty Images

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This legendary triptych, often regarded as one of the most powerful and important paintings of the 20th century, captures a raw, intense dialogue between two titans of modern British painting: Francis Bacon and his friend, rival, and subject, Lucian Freud. The exceptional price achieved when it was sold—breaking the previous record for the most expensive piece of art ever sold at auction at the time—reflects the deeply personal nature of the work and the historical significance of the artistic relationship it memorialises.

8. Francis Bacon - Three Studies of Lucian Freud ($142.4 Million)

This legendary triptych, often regarded as one of the most powerful and important paintings of the 20th century, captures a raw, intense dialogue between two titans of modern British painting: Francis Bacon and his friend, rival, and subject, Lucian Freud. The exceptional price achieved when it was sold—breaking the previous record for the most expensive piece of art ever sold at auction at the time—reflects the deeply personal nature of the work and the historical significance of the artistic relationship it memorialises. | Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images

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As the largest painting Modigliani ever created and the only horizontal nude to contain the model's entire figure within the canvas, this monumental work represents the culmination of his revolutionary approach to the genre, which shocked viewers at his only solo show in 1917. The sale price highlights the market's consistent reverence for Modigliani’s erotic, elongated figures, which blend classical structure with modern psychological intensity.

9. Amedeo Modigliani - Nu couché (sur le côté gauche) ($157.2 Million)

As the largest painting Modigliani ever created and the only horizontal nude to contain the model's entire figure within the canvas, this monumental work represents the culmination of his revolutionary approach to the genre, which shocked viewers at his only solo show in 1917. The sale price highlights the market's consistent reverence for Modigliani’s erotic, elongated figures, which blend classical structure with modern psychological intensity. | HECTOR RETAMAL/AFP via Getty Images

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The final and most celebrated canvas in a 15-part series spanning two months, this work stands as Picasso's reinterpretation of Eugène Delacroix's 1834 Orientalist masterpiece, combining Cubist fragmentation with vibrant colour and energy. This painting became the most expensive Picasso ever sold at the time, demonstrating the persistent appetite for the artist's large-scale, intensely worked paintings from the mid-1950s, a period of renewed creative vigour.

10. Pablo Picasso - Les Femmes d’Alger ("Version O") ($179.4 Million)

The final and most celebrated canvas in a 15-part series spanning two months, this work stands as Picasso's reinterpretation of Eugène Delacroix's 1834 Orientalist masterpiece, combining Cubist fragmentation with vibrant colour and energy. This painting became the most expensive Picasso ever sold at the time, demonstrating the persistent appetite for the artist's large-scale, intensely worked paintings from the mid-1950s, a period of renewed creative vigour. | TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP via Getty Images

Photo Sales
A definitive icon of Pop Art, this silkscreen portrait captures Marilyn Monroe using a revolutionary technique and belongs to the famous "Shot" series—named because a performance artist shot a bullet through the stack of canvases—representing the collision of celebrity, tragedy, and mass media. The high price reflects its undisputed status as a singular masterpiece of 20th-century art, transcending the art market to become a global symbol of American culture and iconography.

11. Andy Warhol - Shot Sage Blue Marilyn ($195.0 Million)

A definitive icon of Pop Art, this silkscreen portrait captures Marilyn Monroe using a revolutionary technique and belongs to the famous "Shot" series—named because a performance artist shot a bullet through the stack of canvases—representing the collision of celebrity, tragedy, and mass media. The high price reflects its undisputed status as a singular masterpiece of 20th-century art, transcending the art market to become a global symbol of American culture and iconography. | ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images

Photo Sales
This striking portrait, which set a new record for modern art and became the most valuable work ever sold at Sotheby's, captures the daughter of Klimt’s major Jewish patrons amidst the artist’s most opulent and decorative Golden Period. The artwork carries a profound historical narrative, having been looted by the Nazis during WWII before its eventual restitution, making its monumental sale not just an artistic milestone but a powerful moment of cultural and historical reckoning.

12. Gustav Klimt - Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer ($236.4 Million)

This striking portrait, which set a new record for modern art and became the most valuable work ever sold at Sotheby's, captures the daughter of Klimt’s major Jewish patrons amidst the artist’s most opulent and decorative Golden Period. The artwork carries a profound historical narrative, having been looted by the Nazis during WWII before its eventual restitution, making its monumental sale not just an artistic milestone but a powerful moment of cultural and historical reckoning. | Getty Images

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