Esther Imonmion
A portrait by Austrian artist Gustav Klimt sold for $236.4 million (£179 million) at a New York auction on Tuesday, becoming the second most expensive artwork ever sold at auction.
The painting, Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer, created between 1914 and 1916, was the focus of a 20-minute bidding battle involving six participants. Auction house Sotheby’s did not disclose the identity of the buyer.
The artwork has a dramatic history: it was looted by the Nazis during World War Two and narrowly escaped destruction in a fire. In 1948, it was rescued and returned to Lederer’s brother, Erich, a friend and contemporary of Klimt’s fellow artist Egon Schiele. Lederer retained possession for most of his life before selling it in 1983.
The portrait depicts Lederer, an heiress and daughter of one of Klimt’s patrons, wearing a white robe against a blue tapestry decorated with Asian motifs. Although the Nazis looted the Lederer art collection after annexing Austria in 1938, family portraits were reportedly left untouched, according to the National Gallery of Canada.
The painting later entered the private collection of Estée Lauder heir Leonard A. Lauder in 1985, displayed in his Fifth Avenue home.
Tuesday’s sale far exceeded expectations, with pre-auction estimates pegging the price at $150 million. The previous record for a Klimt painting at auction was Lady with a Fan, which sold for $108.8 million in London in 2023.
Other works from Lauder’s collection were also auctioned, including Flowering Meadow and Forest Slope at Unterach am Attersee