Klimt's 'Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer' Fetches $236.4 Million, Second-Highest Auction Price

Overview

• The price ranks behind only the $450 million paid for 'Salvator Mundi' in 2017.
• At least six bidders competed for roughly 20 minutes, with an anonymous telephone bidder prevailing.
• The sale took place at Sotheby's first auction in its new Breuer building in New York.
• Sotheby's extended financial guarantees to the Lauder collection, including this lot, to secure the consignment.
• The result eclipsed the previous Klimt auction record and highlights the premium for scarce full-length portraits from his peak period.