A painting by Gustav Klimt, which played a pivotal role in safeguarding its Jewish subject during the Holocaust, was auctioned off for $236.4 million US at Sotheby’s in New York City, setting a new record for a modern art piece. The portrait, titled Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer, was the highlight of a 20-minute bidding war, making it the most expensive artwork ever sold by the fine art broker globally. Another standout item of the evening was a fully operational solid gold toilet that fetched $12.1 million.
The painting, created over a span of three years from 1914 to 1916, portrays Elisabeth Lederer, the daughter of a prominent Viennese family, draped in an emperor’s cloak from East Asia. This artwork is one of two full-length portraits by Klimt that are privately owned and survived World War II unscathed. Unlike other Klimt paintings that perished in a fire at an Austrian castle, this piece was kept separate and remained intact.
The vibrant portrait showcases the opulent lifestyle of the Lederer family before Austria was annexed by Nazi Germany in 1938. When the Nazis confiscated the Lederer art collection, the family portraits were spared as they were deemed “too Jewish” to be of value for looting. In a bid to protect herself, Elisabeth Lederer fabricated a story claiming that Klimt, who was not Jewish and passed away in 1918, was her father. This fabrication was supported by the meticulous effort Klimt put into creating her portrait.
With the assistance of her former brother-in-law, a senior Nazi official, Lederer persuaded the Nazis to issue a document stating her relation to Klimt. The painting was part of a collection owned by the late billionaire Leonard A. Lauder, the heir to The Estée Lauder Companies. The identity of the buyer of the portrait remains undisclosed by Sotheby’s. This sale surpassed the previous record set in 2022 for 20th-century art, held by an Andy Warhol portrait of Marilyn Monroe, sold for $195 million.
In the same auction, a fully functional solid gold toilet, designed as a satirical commentary on the ultra-rich by Maurizio Cattelan, was sold for $12.1 million. Weighing 101 kilograms and crafted from 18-karat gold, the piece named America had an initial bid of around $10 million. Cattelan, known for his unconventional art such as taping a banana to a wall, explained that America mocks excessive wealth by highlighting the commonality of human bodily functions regardless of financial status.
Sotheby’s described the golden toilet as a sharp critique on the intersection of art production and commercial value. This toilet, previously owned by an undisclosed collector, is not the only one created by Cattelan. Another similar piece was exhibited at the Guggenheim Museum in 2016. It was later stolen from Blenheim Palace in England, where it was on display, potentially dismantled and melted down by the culprits.
Before the auction, America was exhibited at Sotheby’s New York headquarters. This sale marked a significant moment in the art world, showcasing the enduring value and intrigue surrounding both historical and contemporary artworks.
