4. Edvard Munch – The Scream
Perhaps one of the world’s most famous images, and most reproduced, The Scream went on sale in May 2012, The 1895 pastel was bought by an anonymous buyer at Sotheby’s in New York. Bidding lasted a mere 12 minutes. The work is one of four in a series by the Norwegian expressionist artist, and was the only one still privately owned. Seven bidders were competing for the work, sparking a bidding war. By the end, the privately-owned pastel, had been sold for £74 million.