Uploaded February 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
This Michelangelo work just marked history: Sold for US$27,200,000, a new artist record.
What began as an unsuspecting photograph submitted through our Auction Estimate portal — a previously unseen and unrecorded Michelangelo study for the Sistine Chapel — just became the most expensive Michelangelo work ever sold from the artist, nearly 30 times its estimate.
Identified by our specialist Giada Damen, one of only around 50 studies related to the Sistine Ceiling, and one of just a handful of Michelangelo drawings in private hands, this was a once-in-a-generation moment.
After 45 minutes of intense bidding in our Rockefeller Center saleroom, this rare drawing, a study for the foot of the Libyan Sibyl, became the most valuable Michelangelo work ever sold at auction. A landmark result for Old Masters and a powerful close to a historic Classic Week in New York.
This Michelangelo work just marked history: Sold for US$27,200,000, a new artist record.
What began as an unsuspecting photograph submitted through our Auction Estimate portal — a previously unseen and unrecorded Michelangelo study for the Sistine Chapel — just became the most expensive Michelangelo work ever sold from the artist, nearly 30 times its estimate.
Identified by our specialist Giada Damen, one of only around 50 studies related to the Sistine Ceiling, and one of just a handful of Michelangelo drawings in private hands, this was a once-in-a-generation moment.
After 45 minutes of intense bidding in our Rockefeller Center saleroom, this rare drawing, a study for the foot of the Libyan Sibyl, became the most valuable Michelangelo work ever sold at auction. A landmark result for Old Masters and a powerful close to a historic Classic Week in New York.
