By Salome Zaalisvhili
1.
Bust of a Woman with a Flowered Hat (Dora Maar) | $37 million
Pablo Picasso
On an auction held in Paris on the 24th of October, Picasso’s painting titled Bust of a Woman with a Flowered Hat (Dora Maar) sold for $37 million, becoming the most expensive painting sold at auction in October.
During their 10 year relationship Picasso created countless portraits of his lover, American artist and photographer Dora Maar. According to experts the painting sold at auction is one of the best examples of Picasso’s work on the subject. Another portrait of Dora Maar set new Asia record, selling for $25 million at Christi’s auction held in Hong Kong in September.
2.
Bust of Elvira (1919) | $29.8 million
Amadeo Modigliani
The Modernities sale at Sotheby’s Paris was led by two Modigliani portraits, one of which Bust of Elvira (1919) sold for $29.8 million. A young lady named Elvira whom he met while traveling through south of France in 1918-1919, was one of Modigliani’s muses and appears on four of his works.
During his short but turbulent career Modigliani only created around 500 to 600 works hence why we rarely see them go to auction. Only four of Modigliani’s oil paintings were sold at auction in the past year.
3.
California | $21 million
Yves Klein
A canvas titled California, Yves klein’s one of the largest paintings created using his signature International Klein Blue sold for $21 million at Christie’s auction on the 23rd of October. Klein started utilizing his signature blue plaint in 1957, California was created in 1961, just one year before his death.
4.
River Pavilion, Mountain Colours | $20 million
Ni Zan (1301-1374)
A 14th-century landscape by one of China's most revered painters became the first work of art to surpass HK$100 million this season at Christie's Hong Kong during Asian Art Week. Following a gripping 45-minute bidding war on 28 October, Ni Zan’s River Pavilion, Mountain Colours sold for HK$160 million (US$20.7 million) – nearly seven times its low estimate – making it the fourth most valuable Chinese painting ever sold at Christie’s Asia.
One of the "Four Masters of the Yuan Dynasty," Ni Zan (1301-1374) is celebrated for his minimal, contemplative ink landscapes. River Pavilion, Mountain Colours is among the most acclaimed
5.
Ski Jacket | $19.13 million
Peter Doig
Peter Doig’s Ski Jacket (1994) led Christie’s 20th/21st century London evening sale on October 15th, selling for £14.27 million ($19.13 million), well above its £8 million ($10.72 million) high estimate. the work depicts a ski slope flushed in glowing, auroral hues of pink, gold and blue. Tiny skiers are peppered among conifers and chalet buildings, bringing together the cabins and trees that are among Doig’s most iconic motifs.
6.
Portrait of a Dwarf (1975) next to Two Figures | $17.6 million
Francis Bacon
Francis Bacon’s Portrait of a Dwarf (1975) has sold above its £6 million to £9 million estimate, hammering down at £13.1 million with fees, or approximately $17.6 million. The painting, which has not appeared on the market for four decades began life as a single large-scale canvas, with Bacon setting two male figures within the cage-like space that defined many of his most emotionally charged paintings. The third presence on the original canvas, the dwarf onlooker, shifted the dynamic into narrative territory. For Bacon, this proved problematic. Bacon cut the canvas in two, leaving behind two self-contained works. Bacon had a “profound connection” with Diego Velázquez, whose portraits of dwarves at the court of Philip IV of Spain—most famously Sebastián de Morra (c.1644) in the Prado, Madrid—offered an unflinching look at figures marginalized and objectified within royal culture.
He was known to destroy, abandon, or reconfigure paintings when they threatened to edge towards narrative or sentimentality. By halving the original work, he distilled two separate statements: one an expression of erotic intimacy, the other a chilling reflection of otherness.
7.
A Family of Cheetahs in a Rocky Landscape | $17 million
Attributed to Basawan, Mughal India, Circa 1575-80
A Family of Cheetahs in a Rocky Landscape, attributed to Basawan, Mughal India, circa 1575–80. realized $17 million, setting a new world auction record for a Classical Indian or Islamic painting and far surpassing its estimate of £700,000–1,000,000.
This breathtaking study of a family of cheetahs is one of the most outstanding early Mughal paintings, exquisitely rendered with expressive naturalism and firmly attributed to the Akbar-period master Basawan. A landmark in early Mughal art, it represents one of the earliest natural history studies.
8.
La Magie Noire | $12.2 million
Rene Magritte
The painting marks the beginning of Magritte’s celebrated “La Magie Noire” series, a group of 10 works from the 1940s depicting women transforming into elemental forms. Modeled on his wife, Georgette, this particular painting presents a nude figure whose body fades into the pale blue sky, with a pigeon perched on her disappearing shoulder.
René Magritte’s La Magie Noire (1934) headlined Sotheby's “Surrealism and Its Legacy Sale” auction on October 24th. Estimated at €5 million– €7 million ($5.4 million–$7.6 million), the work sold for €10.6 million ($12.2 million).
9.
Raymond | $12.2 million
Amadeo Modigliani
“Raymond” (1915), depicting the young writer Raymond Radiguet — sold for $12.2 million following a spirited ten-minute bidding battle, doubling its high estimate.
Modigliani’s most expensive portrait sold at auction is Jeanne Hébuterne (au foulard), it fetched £38.5 million or $51.3 million at Sotheby’s in 2016.
10. 
Coutry Rock | $12 million
Peter Doig
Peter Doig’s second painting on the list, Country Rock, is one of three paintings depicting Toronto’s rainbow tunnel (a rainbow painting on the entrance of one of the underpasses in Toronto), the landscape measuring more than 3 meters was in the same American collection since it was painted in 1999 before selling for $12 million in October. Peter Doig’s most expensive painting to sell at auction is Swamped (1990) sold by Christie’s in 2021 for the hammer price of $39.86
