The 25 Best Photos of 2025

Photograph by Lanna Apisukh

Daniel Humm

Swiss chef Daniel Humm of Eleven Madison Park was the guest curator of Sotheby’s Contemporary Curated auction in New York. Turns out the three-Michelin-starred chef loves fine art just as much as he does fine dining.

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Photograph by Puxan Photo

The Belgian Château

Private wine collector Willy Michiels’ magnificent Renaissance château (surrounded by its original moat) in Belgium, houses more than 29,000 bottles of the finest Bordeaux and Burgundy which rest in seven purpose-built vaulted cellars. Spanning vintages from 1925 to 2012, the scope of this collection is breathtaking. Sales started in December 2025 and will continue into 2026.

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Photograph by Benedict Evans

Charles Simonds

Charles Simonds, the American artist and sculptor works on a piece from his “Dwellings” series in his studio. Sotheby’s new home at the Breuer hosts the longest-standing Dwelling in the world in perhaps the most unexpected location in the building. You'll have to visit to find out where it is.

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Photograph by Anthony Tahlier

The Yellow Books

Vincent van Gogh’s significant late-career painting Romans Parisiens in the home of Cindy & Jay Pritzker, Chicago, IL. The painting sold for $62.7 million at Sotheby's New York, setting a record for a still life by the artist.

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Suzanne Belperron Topaz, Morganite, Aquamarine and Diamond Necklace

Photograph by Sabine Villiard/Open Space, Styling by Anya Ziourova/Art Dept., Hair & Makeup by Loriane Leger/Blend Management, Model: Amelie Cara/City Models

The Magnificent Jewels

A collection featuring several pieces from the French jewelry designer Suzanne Belperron came to auction in December. Here, a necklace made of topaz, morganite, aquamarine and diamonds, which sold for $826,000 (three times the low pre-sale estimate) is juxtaposed against the Parisian skyline.

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Photograph by Joe Schmelzer

The Crosby Closet

An intimate look inside the closet of Bing Crosby at his estate in Hillsborough, California. “Swinging on a Star: The Collection of Bing & Kathryn Crosby” was offered by the Hollywood couple's children, and featured an array of Fabergé, classic art and original film costumes.

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Photograph by Barney Hindle

The Living Room

Pauline Karpidas' living room featuring works by Francois-Xavier Lalanne, Niki de Saint Phalle, Mattia Bonetti and more. Her collection was the most valuable collection ever to be sold by Sotheby's London.

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Photograph by Conor O'Leary

Hannah Martin

Jewelry designer Hannah Martin poses in her London studio. Martin’s "A Vanitas" collection which featured her signature punk, unisex, heirloom-quality jewelry showcased at Sotheby’s London and Hong Kong this autumn and sold exclusively to visitors of the Salon .

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Photograph by Kelly Marshall

The Lauder Office

The view from the legendary businessman Leonard A. Lauder’s desk in his office at Estée Lauder headquarters in New York which featured works by Claus Oldenberg, Joseph Cornell, Kenneth Noland and Robert Rauschenberg (not shown). These works, and more, came to auction at the Breuer in November as part of our inaugural sale in the new space.

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Photograph by Stefan Ruiz

The Golden Toilet

The installation of Maurizio Cattalan’s “America” at the Breuer building drew quite the crowd. The solid-gold toilet sold for over $12.1 million in Sotheby’s Now & Contemporary Evening Auction in November. The purchaser was later revealed to be Ripley, Believe It or Not!, who unmasked themselves with a social media post including the caption "we're flush with excitement."

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Photograph by Stefan Ruiz

The New Sotheby's

Sotheby’s at the Breuer. A project years in the making, Sotheby's finally opened its doors at the temple to Brutalist architecture, the Breuer on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. Visitors are welcome to peruse the art and objects which will change continually throughout the year, as well as visit the Salon where handbags, jewelry and watches can be purchased at fixed prices.

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Photograph by Matthew Sherman

The Young Dinosaur

A mounted juvenile ceratosaurus skeleton, Late Jurassic, Kimmeridgian Stage (approx. 154-149 million years ago). The fossil sold for $30.5 million during July's Geek Week sale, not a record for dinosaur bones (the stegosaurus we sold in 2024 still holds that title), but still the youngest skeleton to be sold at private auction ever.

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Courtesy of Sotheby's

The Last Lion

Rembrandt’s Young Lion Resting. The only depiction of an animal by Rembrandt remaining in private hands, the drawing will come to sale in February 2026 with proceeds destined to benefit Panthera , the world’s leading organization devoted to the conservation of wild cats.

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Courtesy of Sotheby's

The Incredible Gems

Our first-ever auction in Saudi Arabia, held in February 2025, contained some wild and enormous gems and jewels, seen here. A few months later, the team in Saudi sold the most expensive gem of the year. There will certainly be more to come in 2026.

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Photograph by Mark Montgomery

The Banksy

Mark Hoppus of blink-182 with his Banksy Crude Oil (Vettriano). After having the painting valued, he and his wife packed it away for safekeeping but felt it was doing the piece a disservice. They offered it at auction in the hopes that it might find a home where it could be properly viewed and appreciated — it sold $5.4 million.

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Courtesy of Sotheby's

The Carnegie Falangcai Bowl

A fine and exceptionally enamelled ruby-ground falangcai 'floral' bowl, from the period of Kangxi, sold for 34.5 million HKD at Sotheby’s Hong Kong.

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Courtesy of Sotheby's

The Emperor's New Home

Napoleon I at Fontainebleau, painted by Paul Delaroche on March 31, 1814 is a surprising depiction of the Emperor — slumped, bitter and stripped of his typical arrogance. The hand in his waistcoat would come to be seen as his signature pose.

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The Frank Lloyd Wright

A close up of the stained glass on the double-pedestal lamp by Frank Lloyd Wright which sold at Sotheby’s New York for $7.5 million. Designed for the Dana House — also by Wright — the lamp has come to represent Wright's signature glowing geometric artistry.

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Courtesy of Sotheby's

The Big Eyes

Yoshitomo Nara's Can’t Wait ‘til the Night Comes, sold for 79.9 million HKD at Sotheby’s Hong Kong. The largest known work on canvas featuring Nara’s ‘children of the night,' this piece was completed after the Great East Japan Earthquake of 2011 which signaled a stylistic shift in the artist's work.

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Photograph by Tyrell Hampton; Hair by Donato Smith; Grooming by Lauren Chemin.

Jon Batiste

Grammy- and Oscar-winning musician Jon Batiste poses for Sotheby’s Magazine October/November 2025 Creators & Collector’s issue.

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Photograph by Kelsey McClellan

The Electric Guitar

The iconic red, white, and black Kramer Electric guitar—custom-built, owned, and stage-used by Eddie Van Halen, ca. 1982. Eddie Van Halen gave the instrument to his guitar technician Rudy Leiren in the 1980’s inscribing “Rude - Its Been a Great Ten Years – Lets Do Another Ten. Eddie Van Halen” in black Sharpie ink. It sold at Sotheby’s New York for $2.7 million during Grails Week.

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Photograph by Scott Semler; Food Styling by Maggie Ruggerio; Prop Styling by Maggie DiMarco

The Thiebaud of a Thiebaud

We made a Thiebaud out of a Thiebaud by creating a delectable 1950s diner-themed set of desserts and candies for Wayne Thiebaud’s Four Sundaes painting. The painting sold for more than $3.8 million in Sotheby’s Contemporary Day Auction — more than 2x the low estimate.

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Photography by Emma Rose Milligan

The Dinner Guest

Sotheby’s VIP opening dinner was held on 8 November 2025 overseen by Jeff Koons’ Hulk (Rock) which sold at Sotheby’s Now & Contemporary Evening Auction for $4.4 million (more than 2x low estimate).

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Courtesy of Sothebys

The Karpidas Collection

The Sotheby’s London office went all out for the exhibition of the Pauline Karpidas collection. Sotheby’s sale of British arts patron's collection blew past its $53 million high estimate taking in $136 million. The “white glove” result—meaning 100 percent of lots sold—was the highest total for a designated auction held in London.

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Photographs by Bettmann/Getty Images (top) and David Benthal (bottom)

The Opening of the Breuer

1966: Flora Whitney Miller, President of the Whitney Museum of American Art, cuts the ribbon during dedication ceremony for the museum's new building here. Looking on are (from left): the building's architect, Marcel Breuer; Mrs. John F. Kennedy; Lloyd Goodrich, director of the museum, and architect Hamilton Smith.

2025: Sotheby’s ribbon-cutting at the Breuer building with (from left): Jean-Luc Berrebi, Charles Stewart, Patrick Drahi, Steve Wrightson.

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The 25 Best Photos of 2025

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