Leonardo da Vinci’s ‘Salvator Mundi’ painting, the last artwork belonging to a private collection, has become the most expensive painting ever sold at an auction, after it was sold for $450.3 million at Christie's auction house in New York.

The identity of the buyer, who secured the painting by phone, was not immediately revealed.

The Christie's auction house described the bidding for the 500-year-old painting as frenzied.

Over 45 clients spent 19 minutes on the phone and in the New York auction room making bids for the work of art, according to CNN news.

"Salvator Mundi" is a painting for the Christ as Salvator Mundi (Savior of the World). It portrays Jesus Christ in Renaissance clothing, one hand raised in blessing and the other holding a crystal ball.

The work of the Renaissance master fetched more than four times over the Christie's presale estimate of about $100 million, and attracted crowds of visitors during pre-auction viewings in London, Hong Kong and San Francisco.