A painting by Gustav Klimt became the second most expensive piece of art ever sold at auction.
Klimt’s “Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer” sold at Sotheby’s in New York on Tuesday after a 20-minute bidding war among six bidders.
Five Klimt pieces from the collection sold at auction for a total of $392 million, Sotheby’s said. “Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer” alone earned $236.4 million.
Sotheby’s did not reveal the identity of the buyer of the painting.
The most expensive painting ever sold at auction is “Salvator Mundi”, attributed to Leonardo da Vinci – although some art historians doubt this attribution.
What is the story behind Klimt’s paintings?
The portrait, painted by Klimt between 1914 and 1916, is known for helping save the Jewish subject’s life during the Holocaust.
The 6-foot-tall (1.8 m tall) artwork depicts the daughter of Klimt’s main patron, from one of Vienna’s wealthiest families, dressed in Chinese-inspired clothing, standing in front of a blue tapestry with Asian-inspired motifs.
The painting depicts the luxurious life lived by the Lederer family before the Nazi occupation of Austria in 1938.
According to the National Gallery of Canada, where the painting was previously on loan, the Nazis looted the Lederer family art collection, leaving only the family portraits, which were deemed “too Jewish” to deserve theft. It belonged to billionaire Leonard A. Lauder, heir to the Estée Lauder cosmetics giant. He died earlier this year at the age of 92.
To protect herself from the Nazis, Elisabeth Lederer told them that Klimt, who was not Jewish and died in 1918, was her father. The artist’s depiction of her portrait helped Elizabeth’s story seem believable.
Claiming a relationship with Klimt helped her stay safe in Vienna until she died of illness in 1944.
This artwork is one of only two full-length portraits painted by the Austrian artist that are still in private ownership.
Edited by: Elisabeth Schumacher