The World's Most Expensive Art
Last year's sale of Leonardo da Vinci's Salvator Mundi (Savior of the World) for $450 million USD set a new record for the world's most expensive painting.
When it comes to expensive sculptures, Alberto Giacometti is the master. He created the most and second most expensive sculptures ever sold, selling for $141.3 million and $104.3 million, respectively. Both sculptures depict a rough, slender human figure, one pointing and one striding.
As for expensive antiquities, there is one stand-out: The Guennol Lioness. This 5,000-year-old statue was found in Iraq and depicts a lioness-woman. In 2007, it sold for $57.2 million. The 8-centimeter statue was carved during the same period in which the wheel, written language, cities, and agriculture first appeared. It was described by Sotheby's auctioneers as “one of the last known masterworks from the dawn of civilization in private hands.”
Until recently, the most profitable song of all time was Happy Birthday to You by Patty and Mildred J. Hill. However, in 2016 a U.S. federal court ruled its copyright invalid, and so the honor now belongs to White Christmas by Irving Berlin. Over 100 million copies of the song have been sold since it was written in 1942. Its repeated use at Christmas time every year, and in film and television, also contributes to its value.
The most expensive album ever bought was Once Upon a Time in Shaolin. The double album by hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan was limited to only a single copy and sold at auction in 2015. The album cannot be used for commercial purposes until 2103, but it may be released by the owner for free.
It was later revealed that the album was purchased by controversial CEO Martin Shkreli. He reportedly paid $2 million for it and has released some small parts, but not the whole thing. Shkreli was recently imprisoned after being found guilty of investment fraud.
