the 10 million-dollar sales of 2025

The art market is recovering: the 10 million-dollar sales of 2025
From Gustav Klimt to Frida Kahlo and Picasso, a look at the most coveted works at major auction houses
After nearly five years of recession, the art market experienced an exceptional year with the auction of some of the most emblematic works of the 20th century, with Austrian artist Gustav Klimt as the undisputed star, with three of his works taking the top spots.

Klimt's masterpiece, "Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer," stole the show when it sold for USD 236.3 million (approximately €218 million) during a November Sotheby's auction in New York, far exceeding the pre-sale estimate of USD 150 million and setting a new record for the artist as the most expensive work of modern art ever sold.

The distinction of this painting lies both in its economic value and its history: it belonged to Leonard Lauder, one of the most influential collectors, who died in June at the age of 92.

The portrait, characterized by the unmistakable style of the Austrian Secessionist movement, shows Lederer surrounded by ornamental motifs, stylized dragons, and floating Chinese figures, cementing the piece as one of the season's major highlights. This lot surpassed Klimt's own record, exceeding the $108 million achieved in a previous sale held in London in 2023.

Two other Klimt works from the Lauder collection also made it into the list of the ten most expensive works auctioned this year. “Blumenwiese,” a landscape of a flowering meadow, reached $86 million, slightly exceeding an estimate of around $80 million.

While “Waldabhang bei Unterach am Attersee” (“Forest Slope near Unterach am Attersee”) sold for $68.3 million, falling marginally short of its estimated range of $70 million. These three pieces were sold at the same Sotheby’s auction in November.

New York, in that sense, once again became the center of the auction world, leaving European and Asian markets behind.

Vincent van Gogh, a perennial fixture in year-end rankings, came in fourth with “Romans parisiens,” which fetched $62.7 million without a pre-estimate, at another Sotheby’s auction.

Meanwhile, “No. Mark Rothko’s “31 (Yellow Stripe)” also exceeded expectations, selling at Christie’s for $62.1 million, surpassing the minimum estimate of $50 million, as Christie’s announced after raising $690 million in its 20th-century art auction.

The list also includes a new record for Frida Kahlo. Her iconic 1940 painting “The Dream (The Bed)” reached $54.6 million, within the estimated range of $40 to $60 million, and was sold at Sotheby’s on November 20.

With this transaction, Kahlo reaffirms her presence among the high-value Latin American art on the global circuit. She is no longer just the most important woman artist in the region, but also in the world, as the painting surpassed the record held by American artist Georgia O’Keeffe, which sold for $44.4 million in 2014.

Among the leading figures of the contemporary avant-garde, Jean-Michel Basquiat stood out, with his work “Crowns (Net Weight)” fetching USD 48.3 million, surpassing its initial estimate of USD 35 million to USD 45 million on the same day that Klimt was crowned the most expensive.

Geometric abstraction was represented by Piet Mondrian. “Composition with Large Red Plane, Bluish Gray, Yellow, Black and Blue”—from the Leonard and Louise Riggio collection—sold for USD 47.5 million at Christie’s on May 12, a significant figure, although it fell short of the artist’s previous highs.

Impressionism also featured among the most sought-after lots. Claude Monet’s “Water Lilies” achieved USD 45.4 million at the Christie’s auction on May 17, the same event where Pablo Picasso’s “The Lecture (Marie-Thérèse)” ranked tenth, also selling for USD 45.4 million.

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