Top 10 Most Expensive Artworks Sold at Auction in 2025

The 2025 auction season was anything but timid. When major works appeared, bidding climbed fast and prices followed. Across Sotheby’s, Christie’s and Phillips, the year’s ten top lots together brought in more than $750 million, breaking records and elevating a few unexpected contenders. Below are the paintings that defined the year’s most consequential auction moments.

Gustav Klimt, Bildnis Elisabeth Lederer – $236.4 million

Painted in 1914, this portrait shows the daughter of Klimt’s longtime patrons wearing an East Asian robe. Confiscated by the Nazis in 1939 and returned almost a decade later, the painting was sold from Leonard Lauder’s collection at Sotheby’s and set a modern art record. It stands as the second-most expensive artwork ever sold at auction, underscoring both its historical significance and exceptional market demand.

Gustav Klimt, Blumenwiese (Blooming Meadow) – $86 million

Painted during Klimt’s retreats to Lake Attersee, this landscape abandons defined outlines in favor of vibrant color blocks. Offered shortly after the Lederer portrait, Blumenwiese nonetheless held its own in the market, becoming one of Klimt’s most valuable landscapes and a reminder of the artist’s range beyond portraiture.

Mark Rothko, No. 31 (Yellow Stripe) – $62.2 million

Sold by Christie’s in November as part of the Weiss Collection, Rothko’s No. 31 pairs vivid red and orange fields with a single yellow stripe. The work belongs to a brief, luminous chapter before the artist shifted to darker palettes, and in person it emphasized the emotional intensity that can emanate from minimal, color-driven compositions.

Frida Kahlo, El sueño (La cama) – $54.7 million

Kahlo’s haunting self-portrait, sold during Sotheby’s surrealism-focused evening sale, marked a milestone for women artists at auction. Depicting the artist asleep while a skeleton drifts above the bed, El sueño (La cama) was painted after a period of intense personal turmoil and health struggles. The emotionally charged image resonated strongly with collectors and critics alike.

Jean-Michel Basquiat, Crowns (Peso Neto) – $48.3 million

This Basquiat canvas carries strong autobiographical and cultural echoes: three crowned heads, graffiti-like marks and the phrase “Peso Neto,” which adds a critical layer about worth and value. Having appeared in several prominent collections, Crowns exceeded expectations at Sotheby’s, reaffirming Basquiat’s enduring market strength and the personal power of his iconography.

Piet Mondrian, Composition with Large Red Plane, Bluish Gray, Yellow, Black, and Blue – $47.6 million

Centered on a bold red square, this Mondrian balances strict geometry with a surprising sense of movement. Cast from a private European collection to Christie’s sale rooms, the painting proved that minimalist structure can still capture attention and command serious bids.

Vincent van Gogh, Piles de romans parisiens et roses dans une verre – $62.7 million

Not a self-portrait nor a sweeping landscape, this Paris-period van Gogh is a quiet domestic study of stacked novels and a glass of roses. Painted in Theo van Gogh’s apartment near the end of Vincent’s Paris stay, the piece became the most expensive work from that period ever sold at auction. Its apparent simplicity belies a surface alive with energy and a sense of transition.

Claude Monet, Nymphéas – $45.5 million

Monet’s water lilies returned to center stage as a Japanese museum pared down its holdings ahead of a relocation. This Nymphéas stands out for its rich purples and deep blues, illustrating how each canvas in the series maintains a distinct personality even within a broadly familiar subject.

Pablo Picasso, La Lecture (Marie-Thérèse) – $45.5 million

Painted in 1932 at Picasso’s château outside Paris, this portrait of Marie-Thérèse Walter shows her absorbed in a book. Gentle colors and soft lines give the work an intimate calm. Included in the Weiss collection and sold at Christie’s in November, La Lecture drew sustained attention amid a competitive evening of Picassos.

Edvard Munch, Sankthansnatt (Midsummer Night) – $35.1 million

This Norwegian village scene unfolds on a summer night, with moonlight and winding roads rendered from memory rather than direct observation. The painting’s serene, inward tone offered collectors a rare glimpse of Munch’s more reflective side when it appeared in the Lauder collection sale.

Together, these lots illustrate how 2025’s auction market combined historical importance, rarity and emotional resonance to drive extraordinary results. From rediscovered masterpieces with complex provenances to beloved canvases that reveal new facets under close viewing, the year reaffirmed that top-tier works still set the pace for the global art market.