Updated Nov 18, 2025 - Business

Klimt portrait becomes "most valuable" modern artwork, selling for $236.4M

Rebecca Falconer

A white-shirted art handler stands in shadows front of Bildnis Elisabeth Lederer (Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer), by Gustav Klimt, during a press preview at Sotheby's in New York City earlier this month. — An art handler stands in front of "Bildnis Elisabeth Lederer" ("Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer"), by Gustav Klimt, during a press preview at Sotheby's in New York City earlier this month. Photo: Alexi Rosenfeld/Getty Images

Gustav Klimt's "Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer" sold at Sotheby's inaugural auction at the Breuer Building in New York City for $236.4 million, the auctioneer announced Tuesday.

Why it matters: The six-foot-tall painting by the Austrian painter is now both the "most valuable" modern artwork and the second-most expensive piece ever to be sold at auction, per a Sotheby's statement.

The big picture: Six bidders battled it out for some 19 minutes Tuesday, as the bidding price surpassed the $150 million estimate for the portrait that Klimt painted between 1914 and 1916 that depicts Elisabeth Lederer, the daughter of his patrons, in an imperial Chinese dragon robe.

The painting was looted by the Nazis during the Second World War, but Sotheby's noted in a statement that "the canvas narrowly escaped the fate of other works by Klimt in the Lederers' collection, which were likewise seized but ultimately destroyed in a fire at the war's end."

Flashback: Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen's art collection smashes auction record

Editor's note: This article has been updated with additional details throughout.

Add Axios on Google

Klimt portrait becomes "most valuable" modern artwork, selling for $236.4M

What to read next