The double-feature auction at Sotheby’s managed to bring a whopping $706 million, thanks to the record-shattering demand for Gustav Klimt.
The first event of the night was the collection of late Leonard Lauder. No one was ready when Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer (1914–16) by Gustav Klimt ended up being sold for $236.4 million. The whopping figure not only far exceeded any pre-sale estimate but also set a personal record for the artist. It is also now the most-expensive work of modern art ever sold and the 2nd most expensive artwork from any period.
Things didn’t stop for Gustav Klimt there. His Waldabhang in Unterach am Attersee sold for $70.8 million (inc. fees), while another work, Blumenwiese (1980), sold for $86 million. Combined, the three Klimt works alone raked in a total of almost $400 million. The Lauder collection ended up fetching $527.5 million, miles above its $379 million high estimate. The Lauder sale was also a white-glove, meaning ever single lot offered was sold.
The second event of the night was the “Contemporary & Now” auction, which brought in a total of $178.5 million, firmly between its estimate of $143.6 million – $198.25 million. The top lot of the sale was a painting by Jean-Michel Basquiat, which sold for $48.3 million against a $45 million high estimate. Artists like Cecily Brown, Yu Nishimura, and Noah Davis set personal records. Only two lots, both high-value, failed to sell.
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Nonetheless, the evening was a landmark auction for the art market. After the conclusion, Gabriela Palmieri, former Sotheby’s chairman, said: “The fact is there were singular works of art on sale tonight—and the collectors showed up. Between Christie’s last night and Sotheby’s tonight, it was a cathartic evening, a cathartic two days for the market. You could see it in the depths of bidding”.
