5 Most Expensive Vintage Art Sales at Auction in 2024

Topping the list is René Magritte’s L’empire des lumières (“The Empire of Light”), a Surrealist masterpiece that sold for a record-breaking $121,160,000 at Christie’s New York in November 2024​.¹ This sale set a new auction record not only for Magritte but for any Surrealist artwork, after a nearly 10-minute bidding battle​

The painting—which depicts a nocturnal street scene under a sunlit sky—was the crown jewel of the late Mica Ertegun’s collection, an esteemed interior designer and philanthropist​.

The 1954 canvas is one of the largest from Magritte’s famed “Empire of Light” series and had remained in private hands for decades. Its prestigious provenance and the fact that it was fresh to market helped propel this iconic work to a “historic” price level.

Coming in second is an icon of American Pop Art: Ed Ruscha’s Standard Station, Ten-Cent Western Being Torn in Half, which sold for $68,260,000 at Christie’s New York in November 2024. (This 20th Century Evening Sale was held on the same night as the auction that sold L’empire des lumières.)

This monumental oil painting of a bright red Standard Oil gas station—complete with a torn dime-store Western novel cover in the corner—set a new auction record for Ruscha’s work​ Bidders drove the price well beyond its $50 million presale estimate​.

It was originally acquired in 1976 by Texas oil heir Sid R. Bass via a unique trade—Bass swapped another Ruscha from the same series to obtain this canvas​. Before Bass, it passed through the famed Ferus Gallery in Los Angeles and was owned by collectors like Donald Factor and James J. Meeker​.

Impressionist master Claude Monet made headlines when one of his coveted “Water Lilies” (Nymphéas) paintings fetched $65,500,000 at Sotheby’s New York in November 2024​.² The large canvas dated to between 1914–17 is an immersive portrayal of Monet’s Giverny lily pond bathed in dappled light.

Despite it having the second-highest auction estimate, it was the top lot in Sotheby’s Modern & Impressionist evening sale after an intense 17-minute bidding war​.

This Nymphéas was described as the “jewel of the collection” of the late Sydell Miller, a beauty industry mogul and philanthropist​. Miller’s estate had consigned the painting, and Sotheby’s globally marketed the piece, which clearly paid off with competitive bidding from at least three collectors​.

Before Miller, this Water Lilies painting likely passed through distinguished European or American collections (Monet’s works of this caliber often have illustrious histories, sometimes going back to the artist’s dealers or early collectors). The painting’s allure is further heightened by its rarity—it’s one of relatively few Nymphéas from this period still in private hands.

Contemporary art also made the list thanks to Jean-Michel Basquiat’s Untitled (ELMAR) from 1982, which soared to $46,479,000 at a Phillips evening sale in New York in May 2024​.³ Measuring a whopping 8 feet wide, this vivid canvas is an expressive tangle of imagery featuring an Icarus-like figure falling from the sky while being shot with arrows.

This painting was the top lot of Phillips’ spring sales and reaffirmed Basquiat’s enduring market power. It also came with impeccable provenance, having been in the esteemed collection of Francesco Pellizzi for 40 years.​

Pellizzi, an Italian anthropologist and art collector, acquired the work in 1984 directly from Basquiat’s first dealer, Annina Nosei​. It remained in Pellizzi’s private collection, unseen on the market for decades until he decided to sell. (Phillips noted it was one of two Basquiats from the Pellizzi collection up for auction.)​

Magritte appears again on 2024’s list with a second Surrealist gem: L’ami intime (“The Intimate Friend”), which realized £33,660,000 (about $42.1 million) at Christie’s London on March 7, 2024​.⁴ Sold in a special Art of the Surreal evening sale, this 1958 painting depicts Magritte’s signature bowler-hatted man seen from behind, mysteriously accompanied by a floating baguette and wine glass​/

The work hadn’t surfaced at auction in over four decades, so its appearance caused quite a stir among collectors of Surrealist art. Bidding was vigorous, and L’ami intime ended up as the top lot of the London sale night​. Notably, the price hammered just around the low estimate, suggesting the seller’s expectations were met in a market that rewarded fresh Magritte works.

This painting came from the collection of Gilbert and Lena Kaplan​. The Kaplans, prominent American collectors, had acquired L’ami intime shortly after it last appeared at auction in 1980​. (In that 1980 sale at Sotheby’s London, it sold for a mere £90,000, highlighting how dramatically Magritte’s market has grown​.) The Kaplans held the painting for over 40 years, during which it was rarely exhibited publicly—one notable loan was to the Royal Museums of Fine Arts of Belgium in 1998​.