Gustav Klimt’s “Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer” has made history by selling for an astonishing $236.4 million USD at Sotheby’s inaugural sale in the Breuer Building, making it the second most expensive artwork ever sold at auction. The event, held on March 15, 2024, highlighted a significant revival in the art market and marked an impressive debut for Sotheby’s new New York headquarters.
The auction garnered a remarkable total of $706 million USD, setting a new record for the highest single-evening total in Sotheby’s history. This figure more than doubled the amount achieved at similar sales last year, reflecting a renewed enthusiasm among collectors. The Klimt portrait, measuring six feet tall, captivated bidders in a heated 20-minute contest, ultimately surpassing its initial estimate of $150 million USD.
Art Market Revival and Historic Sales
“Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer” features the young Austrian heiress, who was the daughter of one of Klimt’s patrons. This piece is regarded as one of the artist’s most intricate late portraits, combining compositional brilliance with a compelling history. Notably, the painting was restituted after being looted by the Nazis in 1938 and miraculously survived a fire at Immendorf Castle in 1945, which destroyed several of Klimt’s masterpieces.
The sale places Klimt’s work behind only Leonardo da Vinci’s “Salvator Mundi,” which sold for $450.3 million USD at Christie’s in 2017. This recent auction not only underscores the enduring value of Klimt’s artistry but also signals a potential turning point for the art market, which had faced challenges in recent years.
In addition to the Klimt portrait, the evening also featured impressive results in the Now & Contemporary sale. British painter Cecily Brown achieved a new record with her work “High Society (1997-98),” which sold for $9.8 million USD. Meanwhile, a notable piece by Jean-Michel Basquiat, titled “Crowns (Peso Neto)” (1981), fetched $48.3 million USD, marking an exceptional auction debut.
A Unique Experience at Sotheby’s
Among the evening’s highlights was Maurizio Cattelan’s infamous 18-karat gold toilet, “America,” which was sold for $12.1 million USD in a single bid. This price was slightly above the sculpture’s intrinsic gold value. Prior to the auction, the toilet was on display in a restroom within the Breuer building, where visitors could view it one at a time, although it was strictly off-limits for use. Cattelan referred to the piece as “a short circuit between the most ordinary object and the most symbolic material of power and desire.”
This blend of high art and unique spectacle generated excitement among collectors, solidifying a memorable launch for Sotheby’s new location. The evening’s record-setting sales and the historic significance of Klimt’s portrait not only enrich the narrative of art but also reflect a vibrant confidence in the market moving forward.
