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On Sunday, 19 October 2025, masked thieves used a truck-mounted lift and angle grinders to break into the Louvre's Galerie d’Apollon, stealing nine priceless jewels from Napoleon and Empress Marie-Louise’s collection in a heist lasting about seven minutes. One stolen crown was found broken nearby. The museum closed for investigation and reopened three days later with the Apollo Gallery still closed.
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On November 19, 2025, Gustav Klimt's 'Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer' sold at Sotheby's New York for a record $236.4 million, becoming the most expensive modern artwork auctioned. Painted between 1914-1916, the portrait depicts the daughter of Klimt's patrons and survived Nazi looting. The sale was part of the Leonard A. Lauder collection auction, which raised over $527 million.
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A gold toilet titled 'America' by Maurizio Cattelan sold for $12.1 million at Sotheby’s. The piece, made of 18-karat gold, satirizes wealth and commodity culture. It was stolen from a museum in England in 2019 and is now owned by an anonymous collector. The sale highlights art’s intersection with value and satire.
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Recent Sotheby’s auctions have seen a surge in high-value sales, including Frida Kahlo’s record-breaking painting 'El sueño (La cama)' selling for $34.9 million, and Klimt’s portrait of Elisabeth Lederer fetching over $100 million. These sales indicate a recovering art market after a slump, with notable sales of historic and contemporary works.