Artist Gustav Klimt’s Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer made history on Tuesday, November 18, 2025. The 20th-century painting sold for $236.4 million at Sotheby’s auction after 20 minutes of bidding. This shatters Klimt’s previous auction record, and the price makes it one of the most valuable portraits in modern art. It also holds the distinction of being the second most expensive artwork ever sold at auction.
Bidding for the painting began at $130 million and was expected to fetch about $150 million. But to the surprise and delight of Sotheby’s staff and the audience, the final price was much higher. Six bidders competed for it, and the auction ended with a battle between two phone bidders. Ultimately, the hammer came down at $205 million for the painting with an additional $31.4 million in fees.
Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer is a painting of the daughter of Klimt’s most prominent patrons. The piece, which was completed between 1914 and 1916, depicts the 20-year-old wearing an imperial Chinese dragon robe. Since its completion, the painting was seized by the Nazis and survived a fire during World War II. It came into possession of cosmetics heir Leonard A. Lauder, where it hung in his Manhattan apartment for nearly 40 years until his death in June 2025.
“Tonight, we made history at the Breuer,” Helena Newman, Sotheby’s worldwide chairman of Impressionist and modern art and chairman of its European operations, said in a statement. “To see Gustav Klimt’s exquisite portrait of Elisabeth Lederer set a new auction record for the artist is thrilling in itself; to see it become the most valuable work ever sold at Sotheby’s is nothing short of sensational. Klimt is one of those rare artists whose magic is as powerful as it is universal.”
Before Tuesday, Pablo Picasso held the record for the highest price paid for a modern artwork sold at auction. His 1955 painting Les Femmes d’Alger (“Version O”) sold at Christie’s New York in 2015 for $179.4 million.
Sources: Gustav Klimt’s Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer Sells for $236.4 M., Highest Price for Any Work of Modern Art Sold at Auction; Night of Modern Art History, Night of Spectacle at Sotheby’s
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