The market for Gustav Klimt returns to the spotlight with the upcoming auction of the Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer, estimated at over 150 million dollars, and a series of works guaranteed by Sotheby’s that promise to rewrite records in the coming weeks.
What is the masterpiece of Elisabeth Lederer worth today?
Sotheby’s will present the Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer (1914-1916) with a request exceeding 150 million dollars. The house has directly guaranteed the sale, ensuring the award and a new auction record for the artist.
The current record is 108.8 million dollars, achieved in London in 2023 for Lady with Fan (1917-18). Additionally, the second-best result is 104 million dollars for Birch Forest (1903), sold from Paul Allen‘s collection by Christie’s in 2022.
If the price exceeds the indicated threshold, the new maximum will beat the 2023 record by about 42 million dollars (+39%) in just two years. However, the outcome will also depend on the appetite for “trophy” masterpieces this season.
Why this sale can rewrite Klimt’s records
From the legacy of Leonard Lauder (1933-2025) come two landscapes of the Attersee, with estimates exceeding 70 and 80 million dollars, respectively. Overall, three lots could surpass 300 million dollars.
«It is a truly important moment for Klimt’s market», observes Helena Newman, president of Sotheby’s Europe. The artist executed only five commissioned portraits between 1912 and 1918. Moreover, almost all are in museums: such opportunities are extremely rare.
A dynasty of Klimt’s market in New York
Ronald Lauder shook the market in 2006, paying 135 million dollars for the Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I (1907) in a private transaction, transforming the Neue Galerie into a pilgrimage site. That said, his brother Leonard preceded him in 1985 with the purchase of the Lederer portrait.
In 2017, the Neue Galerie exhibition «Klimt and the Women of Vienna’s Golden Age (1900-1918)» featured the two icons, with Adele Bloch-Bauer II at the center, a work that had already passed through Oprah Winfrey. Now Leonard’s final sale will recirculate another core of masterpieces.
Not everyone, however, judges the portraits at the same level. An advisor, who requested anonymity, described Lederer as «splendid», but «less overwhelming… a bit gentler» compared to other portraits by the artist.
How Klimt’s market has evolved
From 2006 to today, the segment of masterpieces has repeatedly surpassed the thresholds of 100 and 150 million. In contrast to initial skepticism, the artist’s name has become synonymous with the highest tier, both at auction and in private.
Private sales above 150 million
In 2017, Adele Bloch-Bauer II, purchased by Oprah in 2006 for 87.9 million dollars, was reportedly resold privately for 150 million. Additionally, Russian billionaire Dmitry Rybolovlev paid about 187 million dollars around 2012 for Water Serpents II (1907), after a previous transaction around 120 million.
Legal cases and acquittals in 2024
That markup fueled fraud accusations by Rybolovlev, who sued Sotheby’s. However, in 2024 a jury acquitted the auction house of aiding and abetting. All these figures surpass the 2023 auction record.
Who inaugurated the 100 million club?
When in 2006 the price of Adele I exploded, only one work had surpassed 100 million at auction: Boy with a Pipe (1905) by Pablo Picasso, sold by Sotheby’s New York in May 2004. It came from the Whitney collection, which had purchased it in 1950 for 30,000 dollars.
Previously, the maximum was 82.5 million, paid in 1990 by a Japanese collector for the Portrait of Dr. Gachet (1890) by Vincent van Gogh. Yet, in one fell swoop, the Austrian went from a record of 29.3 million to 135 million, outpacing the heavyweights.
| Year | Work | Price | House/location |
| 2023 | Lady with Fan (1917-18) | $108.8 million | Sotheby’s, London |
| 2022 | Birch Forest (1903) | $104 million | Christie’s |
| 2004 | Boy with a Pipe (1905) | > $100 million | Sotheby’s, New York |
| 1990 | Portrait of Dr. Gachet (1890) | $82.5 million | – |
What critics and collectors say about the value of Adele I
In 1956, after an exhibition at the Guggenheim Museum, critic Anthony West in the Washington Post labeled Klimt and Egon Schiele as «Viennese secondaries». He described some works as «outrageously erotic» and «the essence of vulgar fraud».
In a phone call, art historian Robert Rosenblum said that looking at Klimt was «like entering a Viennese pastry shop». Additionally, in July 2006 Peter Schjeldahl wrote in the New Yorker: «Is it worth that money? Not yet», predicting perhaps excessive prices.
Schjeldahl stiffened his position in 2012: «It is not a painting, but a great jewel: a thing». However, the 2006 wave had a ripple effect. The five paintings were returned by the Belvedere to the heirs of Ferdinand Bloch-Bauer; four went to auction at Christie’s New York in November 2006, all above estimate.
«All the fuss about Adele I only increased the values of the other works», noted Christopher Knight in the Los Angeles Times. Meanwhile, Ronald Lauder recalled his first encounter with art at the Belvedere at 14: «it was like finding the Holy Grail».
«I was struck. I had never seen images as powerful as The Kiss and Adele I», he said. Of the price paid: «I didn’t think about it. I knew no one wanted it more than me». He called it «a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity» and «the Mona Lisa of the Neue Galerie».
Where Gustav Klimt stands in the market today
«It is among the best specimens that can be obtained on the open market», says Jane Kallir about the canvas coming to auction next week. That said, Kallir notes that the market at the top has become «a bit thin».
The three lots from the Lauder collection are covered by Sotheby’s guarantee; at the moment, there is no external guarantor. Consequently, any risk falls on the auction house.
The article was first published on April 6, 2015, and updated on November 13, 2025, to include new developments in the market and details of the upcoming sale of the Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer.
Overall, the auction will mark a further consolidation of demand for Gustav Klimt.
As expert in digital marketing, Amelia began working in the fintech sector in 2014 after writing her thesis on Bitcoin technology. Previously author for several international crypto-related magazines and CMO at Eidoo. She is now the co-founder and editor-in-chief of The Cryptonomist and Econique.
She is also a marketing teacher at Digital Coach in Milan and she published a book about NFTs for the Italian publishing house Mondadori, while she is also helping artists and company to entering in the sector. As advisor, Amelia is also involved in metaverse-related project such as The Nemesis and OVER.
