US EditionSotheby’s Shatters Records at Its Breuer Debut as a $236.4M Klimt Leads the $706M Evening Sale
The painting sold for $236.4 million at Sotheby’s, setting a record for modern art and highlighting its significance as a Holocaust survivor and centerpiece of Leonard Lauder’s collection.
- Gustav Klimt's Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer fetched $236.4 million at Sotheby's in New York, setting records as the artist's most valuable work and top sale in Sotheby's Modern category.
- Painted between 1914 and 1916, the portrait later helped Elisabeth Lederer survive Nazi persecution after the Gestapo seized the Lederer family's collection following the 1938 Anschluss.
- Hammering at $205 million under the gavel, the portrait sold after a 20-minute bidding war that drew audible cheers and an unidentified buyer.
- The lot helped push Sotheby's to a $706 million single-night total as Leonard A. Lauder's collection netted more than $527.5 million, reshaping modern-art benchmarks beyond Picasso's $179.4 million.
- Demand from Asian bidders buoyed several high-value lots at the sale, with Klimt's works reaching a total of $391,683,300 that night, during preview days over 25,000 visitors queued to see the work in person.
25 Articles
25 Articles
Watch the Record-Breaking Auction of This Gustav Klimt Portrait, Which Just Became the Second Most Expensive Painting Ever Sold
"Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer," which played a role in protecting the life of its Jewish subject during the Holocaust, sold at Sotheby's for a historic $236.4 million. It's also the most expensive modern artwork ever auctioned
Klimt Portrait That Helped Save Jewish Subject From Nazi Persecution Sells for Record $236 Million at Auction
Painting by Gustav Klimt ‘Bildnis Elisabeth Lederer’ (Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer) on display at Sotheby’s auction house new global headquarters on Madison Avenue in the Marcel Breuer building in New York, NY on Nov. 12, 2025. Photo: Lev Radin/Sipa USA via Reuters Connect A Gustav Klimt portrait that helped safe its Jewish subject from Nazi persecution during the Holocaust sold on Tuesday for a record-breaking $236.4 million at a Sotheby’s auc…
A little-known painting by Gustav Klimt fetched a record $236.4 million at a New York art auction this week, making it the second-most expensive artwork ever auctioned. Is that a coincidence, or does money also reveal trends in the art world?
Klimt's women's portrait was $236,4 million at an auction in New York. Klimt once caused scandals. Today he is as accessible as the Impressionists.
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