Gustav Klimt Painting Sells for a Record $236 Million

at Sotheby’s Auction

Gustav Klimt’s iconic painting Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer has been sold at auction in New York for $236.4 million. The record-breaking result was announced on the official X account of the auction house.

The work has become the most expensive lot in the modern art category in the history of Sotheby’s auctions. The buyer’s identity has not yet been disclosed.

Klimt painted Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer between 1914 and 1916. The artwork depicts the daughter of Austrian industrialist August Lederer, one of the artist’s notable patrons. Elisabeth appears in a festive gown adorned with Klimt’s signature decorative motifs.

For comparison, the overall record for the most expensive artwork ever sold at auction still belongs to Leonardo da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi, purchased at Christie’s in 2017 for $450.3 million.

Photo: Sotheby’s