A Klimt painting breaks records and becomes the most expensive work of modern art

BarcelonaA painting by Gustav Klimt (Vienna, 1862-1918) has broken all records and become the most expensive work of modern art and the second most expensive in the history of art. It is the painting Portrait of Elisabeth LedererThe painting, which the Austrian artist created between 1914 and 1916, depicts the young heiress and daughter of Klimt's employers dressed in a Chinese kimono. The work sold for €203.56 million at an auction held at Sotheby's in New York.

The portrait is notable for its large size (it is life-size) and was nearly destroyed during World War II when it was seized by the Nazis. The Lederer family recovered it in 1948 and, in the 1980s, sold it to the heir of the Estée Lauder cosmetics company. Until now, the artwork had been part of Leonard A. Lauder's private collection, displayed in his Fifth Avenue home in New York. It had very rarely left that location and been exhibited in galleries. Leonard A. Lauder passed away last June, and now his family has decided to sell the painting.

After twenty minutes of bidding among six potential buyers, the auction awarded it to a winner, whose identity has not been revealed. With this record, the portrait surpasses the second most expensive work of modern art. Until now it was The females of Algiers (Version O) by Pablo Picasso, which sold for 154.75 million euros. For the moment, the most expensive work of art in the world remains the Salvator mundi by Leonardo da Vinci, which sold for $450 million (€388.14 million) in 2017. The garment was also put up for auction. America by the Italian artist Maurizio Cattelan. It is a solid gold toilet that had a starting price of 8.63 million euros and ended up selling for 10.44 million euros with a single buyer.