THE PORTRAIT OF ELISABETH, EXTRAORDINARY JOURNEY FROM VIENNA TO NEW YORK
THE NEW ERA FOR THE ART MARKET
THE STORY BEHIND KLIMT’S
“PORTRAIT OF ELISABETH LEDERER”
Its value is beyond numbers
THE BREATHTAKING JOURNEY FROM VIENNA TO
A RECORD-BREAKING NIGHT IN NEWYORK
Nazli Kok Akbas, Art Editor, Geneva, Switzerland
Klimt becomes modern art’s most expensive. It's a new chapter for the art market, Klimt's Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer soared past expectations, confirming the insatiable demand for rare, museum-quality masterpieces. The portrait of Elisabeth Lederer is now the second most expensive artwork ever sold at auction.
Klimt crowned at Sotheby’s in New York!
Gustav Klimt’s “Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer” is far more than a dazzling masterpiece of Viennese art modernism. It’s journey from the salons of early-century Vienna to the last night's historic $236.4 Million sale at Sotheby’s encapsulates a century marked by artistic brilliance, war, exile, restitution, and the enduring power of cultural memory.
WHO IS ELISABETH LEDERER
Elisabeth Lederer was born in 1894 into one of Vienna’s most influential Jewish families. Her parents, August and Serena Lederer, were among Klimt’s closest patrons- collectors who believed profoundly in the radical beauty of the artist’s vision. In 1914, they commissioned Klimt to paint their young daughter. Completed in 1916.The portrait depicts Elisabeth in an elegant, patterned robe features two pale blue dragons emerging from stylized waves that transforms Elisabeth from a society portrait sitter into a figure of symbolic power and mythical elevation. The background is filled with small, stylized Asian figures, patterned textures and abstracted forms. Unlike Klimt’s golden works, this portrait uses cool blues, whites, and soft pastels. It captures both the poise of a young woman of society and the shimmering decadence of imperial Vienna.
The Lederers cherished the work, but history intervened. After Anschluss in 1938, Austira fell under Nazi control, and Jewis collectors were systematically seized. The Lederer family’s extraordinary holdings -including major Klimts- were targeted. Elisabeth’s portrait was confiscated along with the rest of the family’s art.
What follow remains one of the more extraordinary personal stories linked to Klimt.
During Nazi regime, Elisabeth managed to survive in Vienna under extremely dangerous conditions. She used the long -standing rumor about Klimt being her father to her advantage, she obtained an official birth certificate that recognized Klimt was her father, which made her legally half-Jewish.
This was not a full protection: although she avoided immediate deportation, she was under constant threat, her family’s art collection was seized and she was pressured various ways. The painting itself remained in Nazi custody, Elisabeth was forced to sell from her inherited collection, some of their art ended up in relocation depots, parts of the collection were eventually kept at Immendorf Castle, in Lower - Austria which later burned in 1945.
Elisabeth lived out the war years in Vienna and died in 1944.
The Portrait re-appears...
The portrait of Elisabeth Lederer re-appeared in 1948: it was anonymously submitted to the Dorotheum ( a Viennese auction house ) but just before the auction, it was withdrawn, the Austrian authorities restituted the painting to Elisabeth’s brother, Eric Lederer.
He kept until 1983, when it entered the hands of New York art dealer Serge Sabarsky. Two years later, in 1985, the portrait was acquired by collector and philanthropist Leonard A. Lauder, who hold it for four decades. Under Lauder’s stewardship, the painting became a treasured part of one of the world’s most respected private collections.
Last night at Sotheby’s...
As a part of the landmark sale of the Lauder collection- the portrait opened a new chapter in its long, dramatic life. After a tense, extended bidding battle, setting a new auction record for modern art and confirming Klimt’s enduring power across continents and generations.
The Portrait of Elisabeth has achieved a remarkable recognition; a record for modern art. But beyond the numbers, this sale affirms something deeper: that provenance, ethical stewardship, and history are as valued as beauty itself.
This magnificent artwork reminds us that art is never neutral. It carries stories, memories, and the responsibility to those who hold it. As we admire it today, we honor the resilience of a family, the moral duty of restitution and the timeless dialogue between past and the present.
Nazli Kok Art Reports
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