"Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist".
This quote was said by Pablo Picasso. One of the most gifted artists of all time. He emphasizes that mastering foundational techniques (the "rules") is necessary before successfully, and effectively, breaking them to create innovative, original work.
The most expensive artwork ever sold at auction is Salvator Mundi, attributed to Leonardo da Vinci, which fetched a staggering $450.3 million at Christie’s New York in 2017.
A haunting portrait of Christ holding a crystal orb, symbolizing his dominion over the world. Believed to have been painted around 1500, it vanished from public view for centuries before resurfacing in 2005 in a state of heavy overpainting and damage. After years of restoration and scholarly debate over its authenticity, it was attributed to da Vinci and sold at Christie’s in 2017 for $450.3 million—making it the most expensive artwork ever sold at auction. The sale sparked global fascination, not only for its price but for the mystery surrounding its provenance, condition, and current whereabouts.
As of early 2026, Gustav Klimt’s Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer ranks second, selling for $236.4 million at Sotheby’s New York in November 2025.
Gustav Klimt’s Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer was painted between 1914 and 1916, during the final years of the Austro‑Hungarian Empire, when Vienna was a center of artistic experimentation and cultural sophistication. The sitter, Elisabeth “Lilly” Lederer, came from one of Klimt’s most important patron families—her parents, August and Serena Lederer, were major supporters of the Viennese avant‑garde and close friends of the artist. Klimt’s portrait captures her with a quiet, poised elegance, rendered in the soft, refined style of his late period. The painting survived political upheaval, war, and shifting ownership before ultimately re‑emerging as a masterpiece of early 20th‑century portraiture. In 2025, it made headlines when it sold at Sotheby’s New York for $236.4 million, becoming the most expensive modern artwork ever sold at auction.
In third place in a private sale is interchange. Willem de Kooning’s Interchange (1955) marks a pivotal moment in the evolution of Abstract Expressionism—right at the point where de Kooning shifted from his aggressive, figurative Women series into a more fluid, landscape‑inspired abstraction. Painted during his move from gritty New York streets to the quieter environment of East Hampton, the work captures that transition: frenetic brushwork, bold pinks and yellows, and a sense of motion that feels almost architectural. The painting’s title hints at both literal urban intersections and the artistic crossroads de Kooning himself was navigating. Long held in prestigious private collections, Interchange became one of the most valuable artworks in history when it sold in a private transaction in 2015 for around $300 million—cementing its status as a landmark of postwar American art and a symbol of the explosive rise of the modern art market.
Writen by Bruce Scher, comments or questions direct to me at;
rev.bruce@heistmuseum.org
http://www.heistmuseum.org
