The second most expensive painting ever auctioned is a portrait created between 1914-1916 by Austrian artist Gustav Klimt. It sold for $236.4 million (€204 million) at Sotheby’s auction house in New York.
The most expensive painting ever sold at auction remains Salvator Mundi, attributed to Leonardo da Vinci, which changed hands for $450 million in 2017.
Six prospective buyers bid on the Bildnis Elisabeth Lederer for around 20 minutes. The oil on canvas measures 1.80 x 1.30 meters and had been estimated at $150 million. It depicts the daughter of Klimt’s main patron, dressed in a white Chinese imperial robe against a blue wallpaper with Asian-inspired designs.
Sotheby’s did not disclose the buyer’s identity.
Sotheby’s emphasized that Klimt’s large portraits from his most important period (1912-1917) are “extremely rare.” Most belong to major museum collections, with very few in private hands.
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