London(November 16, 2017): A painting of Christ by the Renaissance master Leonardo da Vinci sold for a record $450 million at auction, smashing previous records for artworks sold at auction or privately.
The painting, called “Salvator Mundi,” Italian for “Savior of the World,” is one of fewer than 20 paintings by Leonardo known to exist and the only one in private hands.
It was sold by Christie’s auction house, which didn’t immediately identify the buyer. ‘Salvator Mundi’ is a painting of the most iconic figure in the world by the most important artist of all time,” said Loic Gouzer, co-chairman of post-war and contemporary art at Christie’s.
The highest price ever paid for a work of art at auction had been $179.4 million, for Pablo Picasso’s painting “Women of Algiers (Version O)” in May 2015, also at Christie’s in New York. 
The highest known sale price for any artwork had been $300 million, for Willem de Kooning’s painting “Interchange,” sold privately in September 2015 by the David Geffen Foundation to hedge fund manager Kenneth C. Griffin.
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