Gustav Klimt Artwork Shatters Records: Second Most Expensive Painting Ever Sold at Auction!

A painting by Gustav Klimt just sold for a whopping $236.4 million in New York. This makes it the second most expensive artwork ever sold at auction. The piece, titled Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer, was painted between 1914 and 1916.

Six bidders battled it out for 20 minutes before sealing the deal. The buyer’s identity remains a secret.

This portrait has a fascinating backstory. It was looted by the Nazis and almost lost in a fire during World War II but was saved in 1948. It got back to Lederer’s brother, Erich, a close friend of another artist, Egon Schiele. After being kept in the family for years, the painting was sold in 1983.

In the portrait, Lederer, the daughter of a Klimt patron, is dressed in a white robe, set against a backdrop of blue and Asian motifs. Interestingly, the Nazis who invaded Austria in 1938 took a lot of art from families but left the personal portraits behind, as noted by the National Gallery of Canada.

Leonard A. Lauder, from the famous Estée Lauder family, bought the painting in 1985. He displayed it proudly in his Fifth Avenue home in New York.

This recent sale surprised many; experts predicted it would fetch around $150 million. For context, the highest price ever paid for a painting at auction goes to Salvator Mundi, attributed to Leonardo da Vinci, which sold for $450.3 million in 2017. In comparison, the last highest sale for a Klimt painting was Lady with a Fan, fetching $108.8 million in 2023.

In addition to Klimt’s works, Lauder also had others auctioned this week, including Flowering Meadow and Forest Slope at Unterach am Attersee, which sold for between $60 million and $80 million each.

As a quirky side note, just an hour after the Klimt sale, a gold toilet sculpture by Maurizio Cattelan sold for $12.1 million. It received just one bid, from a well-known American brand.

This recent auction not only highlights the enduring value of Klimt’s work but also the changing landscape of art collection in today’s market. With pieces reaching such astronomical prices, it showcases a blend of history, personal stories, and modern-day interest that captivates both collectors and enthusiasts alike. For a deeper dive into the world of art valuation, you can check out studies from sources like Artprice and Sotheby’s.

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