Art News. Vasari Codex

trending_up market schedule Nov 19, 2025 visibility 14 link 5 artists

Gustav Klimt portrait sells for $236.4m, making it the second most expensive artwork ever sold at auction

Gustav Klimt's "Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer" sold for $236.4 million at Sotheby's New York on Tuesday night, becoming the second most expensive artwork ever sold at auction and the most expensive modern artwork ever auctioned. The six-foot-tall painting, created between 1914 and 1916, depicts the young heiress and daughter of Klimt's patrons. Six bidders competed for 20 minutes before the work was sold, though Sotheby's declined to name the buyer. The painting had been looted by the Nazis during World War II, returned to the Lederer family in 1948, and later acquired by Estée Lauder heir Leonard A. Lauder in 1985. Lauder died in June at age 92, and the sale was part of his collection auction that fetched $575.5 million total.

newspaper The Guardian open_in_new Read original

trending_up market schedule Nov 19, 2025 visibility 17 link 5 artists

Gustav Klimt portrait sale breaks modern art record

Gustav Klimt's portrait of Elisabeth Lederer sold for $236 million (£180 million) at Sotheby's in New York, setting a new record for the most expensive work of modern art ever sold at auction. The painting, completed between 1914 and 1916, depicts the daughter of Klimt's most important patrons and was part of the collection of the late cosmetics billionaire Leonard Lauder, who had purchased it in 1985. The sale took place during Sotheby's first evening sale at its new Manhattan headquarters, with bidding starting at $130 million and narrowing to two contenders before the hammer fell at $236 million.

newspaper The Times open_in_new Read original

trending_up market schedule Nov 19, 2025 visibility 16 link 5 artists

Gustav Klimt's rare 'Elisabeth Lederer' painting fetches record $236.4 million - Most expensive work of mo

Gustav Klimt's rare portrait 'Elisabeth Lederer' sold for $236.4 million at Sotheby's, setting a new record as the most expensive work of modern art ever sold at auction. The painting, created in the final years of Klimt's life, narrowly survived World War II after being separated from other works destroyed in a fire at Immendorf Castle. It came from the collection of Estée Lauder heir Leonard A. Lauder, who died earlier this year. The sale also featured Maurizio Cattelan's 18-karat gold toilet 'America', which drew only a single bid and sold for $12.1 million.

newspaper The Economic Times open_in_new Read original

trending_up market schedule Nov 19, 2025 visibility 14 link 6 artists

A gold toilet and the most expensive modern artwork ever sold at auction boost the New York market

Sotheby's New York held a landmark auction evening on November 18, 2025, featuring two headline-grabbing lots: Gustav Klimt's 'Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer' (1914-16), which sold for $236.4 million, becoming the most expensive modern artwork ever sold at auction, and Maurizio Cattelan's solid-gold toilet 'America', which sold for a disappointing $12.1 million after a single bid. The Klimt came from the collection of the late cosmetics heir Leonard Lauder, whose two-night auction total reached $527.5 million. The toilet, previously owned by investor Steve Cohen, had been commissioned when gold prices were far lower, ensuring the seller a profit regardless of the modest bidding.

newspaper EL PAÍS English open_in_new Read original

trending_up market schedule Nov 19, 2025 visibility 20 link 19 artists

Record $236.3m Klimt leads Sotheby’s first night of auctions in Breuer Building

Sotheby's first evening auctions in its new Manhattan headquarters, the former Whitney Museum building designed by Marcel Breuer, achieved a record total of $605.1 million ($706 million with fees) on November 18. The night was headlined by the sale of 24 works from the collection of the late billionaire Leonard Lauder, which alone brought in $456.2 million. The standout lot was Gustav Klimt's 'Bildnis Elisabeth Lederer (Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer, 1914-16)', which sold for $205 million ($236.3 million with fees) after a nearly 20-minute bidding war, becoming the second-most-expensive painting ever sold at auction. A subsequent contemporary art auction added $148.8 million ($178.5 million with fees) across 44 lots.

newspaper The Art Newspaper open_in_new Read original

trending_up market schedule Nov 18, 2025 visibility 14 link 9 artists

Gold toilet, Klimt portrait sell for millions at Sotheby’s

A portrait by Gustav Klimt, *Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer* (1914–1916), sold for $236 million at Sotheby's in New York, setting a record for the auction house. The painting, depicting the daughter of Klimt's patron, was part of the collection of late billionaire Leonard A. Lauder. In the same sale, Maurizio Cattelan's solid gold toilet *America* (2016) fetched $12.1 million, with the piece satirizing superwealth. The toilet had previously been exhibited at the Guggenheim Museum and was stolen from Blenheim Palace in 2019; its current whereabouts remain unknown.

newspaper Australian Broadcasting Corporation open_in_new Read original

trending_up market schedule Nov 19, 2025 visibility 8 link 2 artists

klimt waldabhang unterach attersee lauder sale 1234762095

Gustav Klimt's landscape painting *Waldabhang in Unterach am Attersee* (1916) sold for $70.8 million at Sotheby's on Tuesday night, hammering at $61 million. The work was the third Klimt painting sold by Sotheby's from the collection of the late mega-collector Leonard A. Lauder, and was the first Klimt landscape Lauder ever purchased. The sale comes after Lauder's other Klimt landscapes achieved record prices, including *Blumenwiese* ($86 million) and his portrait of Elisabeth Lederer ($236.4 million).

newspaper ARTnews open_in_new Read original

trending_up market schedule Nov 19, 2025 visibility 13 link 6 artists

gustav klimt blumenwiese blooming meadow lauder sale 1234762091

Gustav Klimt's 1908 landscape painting *Blumenwiese* (Blooming Meadow) sold for $86 million at Sotheby's, slightly above its $80 million-plus estimate. The work was part of the Leonard A. Lauder Collection, a major consignment also featuring pieces by Matisse, Munch, and Martin. Lauder had acquired the painting in 1985, drawn to Viennese modernism and Klimt's Attersee period. The sale marks the second-highest price ever for a Klimt landscape, trailing the $104.5 million record set by *Birch Forest* in 2022.

newspaper ARTnews open_in_new Read original

trending_up market schedule Dec 26, 2025 visibility 13 link 9 artists

10 top lots auction 2025 2723777

Gustav Klimt's portrait of Elisabeth Lederer topped the list of the most expensive artworks sold at auction in 2025, achieving $236.3 million at Sotheby's New York on November 18—far exceeding its $150 million estimate and setting a new record for the artist. The painting came from the collection of the late Leonard Lauder, who died in June at age 92. Other top lots included two more Klimts from Lauder's collection, a newly offered Basquiat, and a record-setting Frida Kahlo work, alongside notable sales by van Gogh, Rothko, Mondrian, Monet, and Picasso, with many of the highest prices achieved during the blockbuster November auctions at Sotheby's and Christie's.

newspaper Artnet News open_in_new Read original

trending_up market schedule Nov 19, 2025 visibility 8 link 4 artists

christies 20th century art november new york by the numbers 2715393

Christie’s fall auction season in New York opened with a robust evening sale of 20th-century art on Monday night at Rockefeller Center, achieving a total of $690 million after fees. The sale featured an 18-lot offering from the private collection of Robert and Patricia Weis, followed by the main 20th-century auction. The top lot was Mark Rothko’s *No. 31 (Yellow Stripe)* (1958), which sold for $62 million, while Claude Monet’s *Nymphéas* (1907) brought $45.5 million. The sale had a 95 percent sell-through rate, with 55 of 80 lots guaranteed, and strong in-person bidding provided a boost of market confidence after months of art fair cancellations and gallery closures.

newspaper Artnet News open_in_new Read original

trending_up market schedule Dec 19, 2025 visibility 12 link 15 artists

The 10 Most Expensive Auction Works in 2025

The article reports on the ten most expensive auction lots of 2025, led by Gustav Klimt's 'Bildnis Elisabeth Lederer (Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer)' (1914), which sold for $236.36 million at Sotheby's, making it the second-most-expensive artwork ever sold at auction. The top end of the market rebounded after a quieter 2024, with the 100 most expensive lots totaling $2.13 billion, up from $1.8 billion the previous year. Nine of the top ten lots were sold during the marquee New York sales in November, where Sotheby's, Christie's, and Phillips together generated over $2 billion and set 16 artist auction records. The list includes multiple Klimt works from the collection of American philanthropist Leonard A. Lauder, as well as a Vincent van Gogh still life that sold for $62.71 million.

newspaper Artsy open_in_new Read original

article news schedule Nov 21, 2025 visibility 14 link 7 artists

The $236m Klimt, Cop 30 and the art world, Caravaggio’s Victorious Cupid—podcast

This podcast episode from The Art Newspaper covers three major art-world stories. Gustav Klimt's "Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer" (1914-16) sold for the second-highest price ever at auction during Sotheby's New York sale of works from the late billionaire Leonard Lauder's collection, a "white-glove" auction that has sparked debate about a market recovery. Additionally, the episode discusses COP30-related art commissions appearing on posters across the UK and Brazil under the theme "It's Not Easy Being Green," alongside the Gallery Climate Coalition's new Stocktake Report on carbon emissions. The episode's Work of the Week is Caravaggio's "Victorious Cupid" (1601-02), which has traveled from Berlin's Gemäldegalerie to the Wallace Collection in London for an upcoming exhibition.

newspaper The Art Newspaper open_in_new Read original

trending_up market schedule Sep 16, 2025 visibility 19 link 21 artists

Sotheby’s secures $120m Pritzker and $400m Lauder collections, with works by Matisse, Munch and Van Gogh

Sotheby’s has secured two major private collections for its autumn New York sales: the Pritzker collection, estimated at $120 million, and the Lauder collection, valued at around $400 million. The Pritzker collection includes Vincent van Gogh’s *Romans Parisiens* (1887) with a $40 million estimate, while the Lauder collection features Gustav Klimt’s *Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer* (1914-16) estimated at over $150 million, along with works by Matisse, Munch, and Martin. The sales will take place at Sotheby’s new headquarters in the Breuer Building this November.

newspaper The Art Newspaper open_in_new Read original

trending_up market schedule May 6, 2026 source 2 sources visibility 18 link 3 artists, 2 galleries

Art Market Auctions Recovered Late 2025, But Not A "Comeback" – Citi Wealth

Citi Wealth's report, "State of the Art Market 2026: Don’t Call It A Comeback," finds that the global art market entered 2026 with renewed optimism, but confidence is highly selective and concentrated at the high and accessible ends. The November 2025 Modern and Contemporary Art auctions in New York surged 77% year-on-year to $2.2 billion, driven by the record-breaking $236.4 million sale of Gustav Klimt's *Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer* from the Leonard Lauder collection. However, numerous galleries closed in 2025, including BLUM gallery and Venus Over Manhattan, and traditional hubs like London and New York face slow growth while emerging regions gain influence.

newspaper Wealth Briefing open_in_new Read original

article news schedule May 14, 2026 source 2 sources visibility 3

The Met Will Expand by Merging With the Nearby Neue Galerie

The Metropolitan Museum of Art will acquire the Neue Galerie's Fifth Avenue building and its collection of 20th-century Austrian and German art, starting in 2028. The collection was built by cosmetics magnate Ronald S. Lauder, who founded the Neue Galerie in 2001.

newspaper New York Times Art Also: Google News open_in_new Read original

trending_up market schedule Dec 19, 2025 visibility 11 link 3 artists

Bing Crosby’s collection brings a white-glove Christmas to Sotheby’s

Sotheby's achieved a white-glove auction of Bing Crosby's personal collection in New York, selling all 100% of lots for $6.7 million against an estimate of $3.9–$6.3 million. Highlights included musical arrangements from Crosby's 1954 film *White Christmas* ($19,050), a Tiffany & Co cigarette box gifted by John F. Kennedy ($15,240), a Sheraton-style grand piano from *High Society* ($95,250), and a Fabergé sapphire mouse ($355,600). Top prices were led by paintings by Sir Alfred James Munnings ($1.2 million) and Charles Marion Russell.

newspaper The Art Newspaper open_in_new Read original

trending_up market schedule Jan 6, 2026 visibility 18 link 9 artists

In a ‘K-shaped’ economy, the art market's recovery could rely on the super-rich

Sotheby's and Christie's held a series of high-profile auctions in New York in late 2025, generating a combined $2.2 billion from major collections including the Leonard A. Lauder collection, the Cindy and Jay Pritzker collection, and the Robert F. and Patricia G. Ross Weis collection. Star lots included Gustav Klimt's portrait of Elisabeth Lederer ($236.4m), a Vincent van Gogh still life ($62.7m), a Frida Kahlo self-portrait ($54.7m), and a Mark Rothko abstract ($62.2m). Despite these strong results, the total was still 30% below the equivalent sales in 2022, and the article notes a growing number of contemporary gallery closures in 2025.

newspaper The Art Newspaper open_in_new Read original

trending_up market schedule Dec 31, 2025 visibility 22 link 15 artists

Observer’s 2025 Art Market Recap: Recovery After a Year of Recalibration

After a turbulent start marked by gallery closures and market contraction, the art market in 2025 rebounded decisively, driven by a secondary-market surge in high-quality consignments. Major auction houses reported strong year-end results: Sotheby's projects $7 billion in consolidated sales (up 17%), Christie's expects $6.2 billion (up 7%), and Phillips reported $927 million (up 10%). Key sales included the $272 million Leonard & Louise Riggio collection at Christie's, the $527.5 million Lauder collection at Sotheby's (led by a $236.4 million Gustav Klimt), and the $136 million Karpidas sales. The year began quietly but gained momentum after summer, with deep bidding and strategic pricing driving a 26% increase in Sotheby's auction revenue and an 11% overall rise in fine art sales across Old Masters, Impressionist, Modern, Post-War and Contemporary categories.

newspaper observer.com open_in_new Read original

trending_up market schedule Nov 20, 2025 visibility 13 link 4 artists

Klimt portrait sets new modern art record at $236.4 million New York auction

Gustav Klimt's portrait *Bildnis Elisabeth Lederer* (1914–1916) sold at Sotheby's New York on November 18 for $236.4 million, becoming the second most valuable artwork ever sold at auction and the most valuable modern work. The painting was the highlight of the Leonard Lauder collection sale, which totaled over $600 million. After a 20-minute bidding war, the portrait hammered at $205 million before fees, surpassing its $150 million estimate. The work, stolen by the Nazis during World War II, was acquired by Lauder in the 1980s.

newspaper Just Collecting open_in_new Read original