Klimt Painting Sells as Second Most Expensive Artwork in History

Gustav Klimt’s 1914–16 portrait of Elisabeth Lederer sold for $236.4 million with fees during the first evening sale at Sotheby’s new headquarters at the Breuer Building in New York on November 18. Surpassing its $150 million estimate, the painting was acquired by a phone bidder with Julian Dawes, head of Impressionist and Modern Art, after a 20-minute bidding session. Auctioneer Oliver Barker announced it was the highest price ever paid for a modern artwork at auction. It is also the second most expensive work ever sold on the public market, trailing only Leonardo da Vinci’s “Salvator Mundi,” which sold for $450 million at Christie’s, and is the priciest work ever sold by Sotheby’s.

“Tonight, we made history at the Breuer,” said Helena Newman, Sotheby’s global chairman of Impressionist and Modern Art, in a statement. “Klimt is one of those rare artists whose magic is as powerful as it is universal.”

“Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer” depicts the 20-year-old daughter of Jewish industrial magnate August Lederer and his wife Szerena, who were patrons of Klimt in Vienna. Lederer was so close to Klimt, who died two years after completing her portrait, that she referred to him as her “uncle” and later claimed he was her biological father to evade scrutiny under Nazi rule, according to Sotheby’s.

The piece was one of three Klimt oils featured in Sotheby’s sale of works from the collection of the late Estée Lauder heir Leonard A. Lauder; two landscapes by the artist were sold for $86 million and $70.7 million. Additionally, the sale included several Matisse sculptures and two Agnes Martin geometric paintings, achieving $14.6 million and $7.3 million, respectively.

A pre-sale exhibition at Sotheby’s in New York attracted approximately 25,000 visitors, according to a statement from the auction house.