NEW YORK — November 21, 2025: A rare masterpiece by Austrian modernist Gustav Klimt has set the art world abuzz after selling for an extraordinary $236.4 million at Sotheby’s in New York—now ranking as the second-most-expensive painting ever sold at auction.
- Gustav Klimt’s Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer sold for $236.4 million, becoming the second-most-expensive painting ever sold at auction.
- The masterpiece was part of the Leonard A. Lauder Collection, helping generate $527.5 million in total for the evening sale.
- Sotheby’s auction also saw strong performances from Basquiat, Cecily Brown, and Maurizio Cattelan, marking one of the year’s biggest art-market events.
The artwork, Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer (1914–16), drew intense bidding during a 20-minute showdown among six collectors on November 18 at the inaugural auction inside Sotheby’s newly opened Breuer Building. The painting was part of the prestigious Leonard A. Lauder Collection, offered in a white-glove sale featuring 24 works that collectively fetched $527.5 million.
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Standing six feet tall, the portrait depicts Elisabeth Lederer—daughter of Klimt’s prominent patrons—elegantly draped in a Chinese robe. The artwork survived Nazi-era confiscation attempts before being returned to the Lederer family in 1948. It was later acquired by philanthropist Leonard A. Lauder in 1985, where it remained in his New York home until his passing earlier this year at age 92. Only two full-length Klimt portraits are believed to remain in private hands.
Klimt’s new record far surpasses his previous benchmark set in 2023, when Dame mit Fächer sold for $108 million. Two more Klimt works also performed strongly in Monday’s sale:
- Blumenwiese (Blooming Meadow) sold for $86 million
- Waldabhang bei Unterach am Attersee achieved $68 million
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The only artwork to surpass Klimt’s latest achievement remains Leonardo da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi, which sold for $450.3 million in 2017.
The evening continued with Sotheby’s Now & Contemporary sale, totaling $178.5 million. Jean-Michel Basquiat’s Peso Neto topped that segment with a $48.3 million sale.
One of the most talked-about lots was Maurizio Cattelan’s provocative gold sculpture America—a fully functional toilet crafted from 101 kilograms of solid gold. The piece sold for $12.1 million to Ripley’s Believe It or Not!, just above the value of its bullion.
Additional artist records were also set, including for Antonio Obá, Yu Nishimura, and British painter Cecily Brown, whose High Society sold for $9.8 million, well above its estimate.
The landmark auction has cemented Klimt’s standing in the ultra-high-end art market and marks one of the strongest sales in Sotheby’s recent history.
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