Pablo Picasso's "Boy with a Pipe" became the most expensive painting ever sold: May 05, 2004
Garçon à la pipe - Wikipedia Owned by the estate of John Hay Whitney, on May 5, 2004 it sold for $US104.1 million at an auction in Sotheby's in New York City, after having been given a pre-sale estimate of $70 million by the auction house. From 2004 until June 2006 it was the most expensive piece of artwork ever sold at auction.