US EditionIn major auction night, rare Klimt painting smashes records at $236.4 million
- On Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2025, Gustav Klimt's Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer fetched $236.4 million at Sotheby's in New York, becoming the second most expensive artwork ever sold at auction.
- Rarity and provenance pushed collectors to compete as Sotheby's said Klimt's full-length portraits from his 1912-17 pinnacle period are exceptionally rare and the lot came from Leonard A. Lauder's collection after surviving World War II intact.
- Six bidders battled for 20 minutes over the Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer, and Sotheby's did not disclose the buyer's identity.
- The sale included Maurizio Cattelan's `America`, a fully functional, 18-karat-gold toilet satirizing superwealth, which sold for $12.1 million after Sotheby's exhibition, with the auction house calling it an incisive commentary.
- The market benchmark remains the $450 million `Salvator Mundi`, while Sotheby's will soon offer a Frida Kahlo self-portrait potentially surpassing her $34.4 million record, with past benchmarks like Georgia O'Keeffe's $44.4 million.
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76 Articles
The bidder contest lasted 20 minutes, then the hammer fell. Gustav Klimt's "Bildnis Elisabeth Lederer" was auctioned New York for a record value. A golden toilet also scored a high price.
A painting by the Austrian painter Gustav Klimt has been auctioned in New York for 236.4 million dollars.
The late Viennese painter Gustav Klimt wrote auction history at Sotheby's in New York on Tuesday evening. After a long and exciting bidding contest, the painting "Bildnis Elisabeth Lederer" was sold for 205 million dollars. According to the auctioneer, the late work breaks numerous records with the sales value and is thus by far the most expensive Klimt painting ever sold. The value of "Bildnis Elisabeth Lederer" is actually around 130 million e…
A portrait painted by the Austrian Gustav Klimt, sold $236.4 million (204 million euros) by Sotheby's Tuesday in New York, has become the second most expensive work ever auctioned. ...
Klimt artwork sells as second-most expensive ever
A painting by Gustav Klimt became the second most expensive piece of art ever sold at an auction. Klimt's "Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer" sold on Tuesday after a 20-minute bidding war between six bidders at Sotheby's in New York. Five Klimt pieces from the collection sold at the auction for a total of $392 million, Sotheby's said. The "Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer" fetched $236.4 million alone. Sotheby's did not reveal the identity of the portr…
A portrait by Austrian painter Gustav Klimt sold for $236.4 million (4.9 billion crowns) at an auction in New York on Tuesday, AFP reported on Wednesday, making the painting the second most expensive work of art ever sold at auction.
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