Overview
- Sotheby’s confirmed it will offer 55 works from Leonard Lauder’s collection in New York, with a combined estimate around $400 million.
- Gustav Klimt’s Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer is estimated above $150 million and is positioned by specialists as a likely new auction record for the artist.
- Two Klimt landscapes from the Lauder trove—Blooming Meadow and Forest Slope in Unterach—carry estimates of $80–$100 million and $70–$90 million, respectively.
- The house also secured 37 works from Jay and Cindy Pritzker’s collection, expected to fetch about $120 million, led by Van Gogh’s Romans Parisiens (Les Livres jaunes) with a $40 million estimate.
- The November evening auctions will inaugurate Sotheby’s new Breuer Building headquarters, as the firm contends with a reported $248 million loss for 2024 and competition from Christie’s, which won the Weis collection with a reported large upfront payment.