Gustav Klimt artwork of Jewish woman sells for record £181 million
Looted by the Nazis and nearly destroyed by fire in an Austrian castle, 'Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer' sold after a 20-minute bidding war at Sotheby's in New York
A Gustav Klimt portrait of a Jewish woman who survived the Holocaust by telling the Nazis that the celebrated artist was her father has become the most valuable work of modern art to ever sell at auction.
Following a twenty minute war between six bidders at Sotheby’s global headquarters in New York’s Breuer Building, and to gasps and cheers from the audience, the 6-foot oil-on-canvas “Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer,” one of just two full-length Klimts in private hands, reached $236.4, or £181 million (with fees).
Painted between 1914 and 1916, the portrait of Elisabeth in an East Asian emperor’s cloak, set a record for any work ever sold at the auction house.
Elisabeth Lederer was the daughter of a prominent Jewish Viennese family, who were among Klimt’s greatest patrons. The painting was part of the Lederer collection seized by the Nazis in 1938 after they annexed Austria; they left the family portraits, which, according to the National Gallery of Canada where the painting was previously on loan, were considered “too Jewish” to be worth stealing.
To escape Nazi persecution, Elisabeth circulated the false story that Klimt, who had died in 1918, was her real father. Elisabeth’s mother, Szerena, signed an affidavit attesting Klimt’s paternity to save her daughter.
Elisabeth Lederer died from illness in 1944. In 1948, the portrait was returned to her brother, Erich Lederer, as part of post-war restitution efforts.
In 1985, it was purchased by Leonard A. Lauder, heir to the Estée Lauder multinational cosmetics company, who died earlier this year.
The sale beat out a previous record set by a Andy Warhol work in 2022.
In 2006, Lauder’s brother Ronald paid $135m (£103m) in a private sale, rather than at auction, for Klimt’s famous Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer 1, widely known as Woman in Gold. It is currently housed in the Neue Galerie in New York, which was co-founded by Lauder.
In 2023, Klimt’s final completed portrait, “Dame mit Fächer” (Lady with a Fan),” sold for $108.4 million or £83 million.
Sotheby’s has declined to identify the successful buyer of the painting.
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
