THE TOP 5 MOST VALUABLE PAINTINGS AS OF 2025
Art is more than a way to convey ideas and the beauty of the world. It's a financial investment for many. The correct piece of art can increase in value over time and bring in millions of dollars when it is sold. The price at which a painting sells at auction can also provide us with information about market trends and other elements that are driving up the value of artwork. The most valuable paintings as of 2025 are examined here.
Even the priciest paintings don't always sell at auction. Many are sold via private sales, which protect buyer identity and the precise amount paid. Nevertheless, the sale prices are eventually revealed, either as a result of a lawsuit or a news statement.
5. Nafea Faa Ipoipo (When Will You Marry?) by Paul Gauguin | $210 million
In 2014, the nation of Qatar bought Nafea Faa Ipoipo (When Will You Marry?) by Paul Gauguin. The piece was one of Gauguin’s first after visiting Tahiti in 1891. It was first reported that the painting was sold for $300 million, surpassing the Cézanne bought a few years earlier. However, a legal dispute later revealed that the painting sold for $210 million.
4. The Card Players by Paul Cézanne | $250 million
In 2011, Qatar paid $250 million for Paul Cézanne's The Card Players before acquiring Nafea Faa Ipoipo (When Will You Marry?). The current auction record for a single piece of art was more than quadrupled at the time. The ultimate auction price, which showed two peasants playing a card game, was thought to be enormous. However, it appears that there was some justification for the high bid; The Card Players is one of five pieces in the series, and Qatar joined the other owners—the Barnes Foundation in Philadelphia, the Musée d'Orsay in Paris, the Courtauld in London, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York—by acquiring one of the pieces.
3. Interchange by Willem de Kooning | $300 million
Interchange, a 1955 painting by abstract expressionist Willem de Kooning, garnered $300 million at a private sale in 2016. David Geffen, a co-founder of DreamWorks Studios, sold it to hedge fund billionaire Kenneth Griffin. The Norton in West Palm Beach, Florida, is currently the owner of the picture.
2. Salvator Mundi by Leonardo da Vinci | $450.3 million
Salvator Mundi's 2017 auction set a new record for the most expensive piece of art ever sold at auction. It is a rediscovered masterpiece by Leonardo da Vinci, created in 1500. On the suspicion that the renowned Renaissance painter was the author, it was initially purchased in 2006. Although there is no reliable method to ascertain it, it is widely acknowledged as such after years of restoration and academic conjecture. This did not, however, deter bidders from a 19-minute bidding war in 2017 that saw bids much beyond the $100 million starting price. No piece of art has ever brought in more than $200 million until this Christie's auction in New York.
1. Mona Lisa by Leonardo da Vinci | Up to $1 Billion
First things first: there will be no auction of the Mona Lisa. For the foreseeable future, it will stay at the Louvre in Paris. However, this does not exclude specialists from speculating on its worth, so establishing a ceiling for additional works. Due to its historical and cultural significance, this Renaissance icon is worth up to $1 billion. With an estimated 10 million visitors annually, the masterpiece artwork is the most viewed painting in the world, so it's easy to understand why.
