A monumental six-foot-tall portrait by Gustav Klimt, previously owned by late cosmetics magnate Leonard A. Lauder, is poised to shatter auction records when it goes under the hammer next week at Sotheby's. The "Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer," which has never been sold at auction before, carries an estimate exceeding $150 million and could potentially become the most expensive work by the Austrian artist ever sold.
The painting, completed just two years before Klimt's death in 1918, depicts the 20-year-old daughter of the artist's wealthiest Viennese patrons. Elisabeth Lederer is shown wearing an ornamental gauzy robe, surrounded by motifs inspired by Chinese art, reflecting Klimt's fascination with East Asian aesthetics during his later period. The portrait represents a significant departure from Klimt's famous golden period, showcasing the evolution of his artistic style in his final years.
For decades, this masterpiece remained largely hidden from public view, hanging in Leonard A. Lauder's Fifth Avenue home in New York. The billionaire heir to the Estée Lauder cosmetics empire, who passed away in June, kept the painting as the crown jewel of his collection. Art historian Emily Braun, who served as Lauder's advisor for nearly four decades, recalls how the painting occupied a place of honor first in his living room, then later in his dining room to accommodate a large Cubist work by Fernand Léger.
The portrait's history is marked by tragedy and survival against extraordinary odds. During World War II, the Nazis looted the Lederer family's vast art collection, holding it for more than a decade. Many of their Klimt works were displayed in a 1943 Vienna exhibition before being stored in Immendorf Castle, which burned down at the war's end. However, the family portraits, including Elisabeth's, were excluded from the exhibition due to the family's Jewish heritage, ultimately sparing them from destruction.
Elisabeth Lederer herself became a tragic figure of the war era. As fascism cast its shadow over Europe in the 1920s, she converted to Protestantism and married a baron who divorced her just before World War II began. The same year, their young son died, adding to her mounting tragedies. When her family fled Vienna, Elisabeth remained behind as a vulnerable single Jewish woman. In a desperate bid for protection, she falsely claimed that Klimt, who had died in 1918, was actually her father.
This fabricated story of half-Christian, half-Klimt paternity provided her some protection and was supported by her mother, Serena Lederer. The ruse was plausible given Klimt's reputation for allegedly fathering numerous children out of wedlock, and his role as a close family friend and Elisabeth's childhood drawing instructor. Despite these efforts at self-preservation, Elisabeth lost everything and died at age 50 before the war ended, under circumstances that remain unclear.
The portrait's companion piece, depicting Elisabeth's mother Serena, hangs just a short walk away at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where millions of visitors pass by it each year. Painted approximately 15 years earlier, Serena's portrait showcases Klimt's stylistic evolution. While the mother's portrait appears wispy and spare, Elisabeth's composition demonstrates the bold, lush qualities that characterized Klimt's later work. Yet both subjects share the same dark, penetrating gaze that Braun describes as "incredible coal blackness."
Following the war's end in 1948, Elisabeth's portrait was returned to her brother Erich, who appears in drawings and paintings by Klimt's friend and peer Egon Schiele. The painting remained in Erich's possession until late in his life. Art dealer Serge Sabarsky acquired the portrait in 1983 and sold it two years later to Lauder, who had developed a keen interest in Klimt's work during the 1970s.
Lauder's appreciation for Klimt stemmed from multiple sources, according to Braun. His Hungarian and Czech heritage connected him to the region's cultural history, while his scholarly approach to art collecting reflected a deep understanding of what Klimt represented at the apex of Viennese culture. "He was a real historian," Braun emphasized, noting Lauder's fascination with European cultural history and his immediate recognition of the aesthetic strength and beauty of Klimt's works.
The upcoming sale represents more than just a single masterpiece changing hands. Lauder's collection includes two additional Klimt works – both landscapes of Lake Attersee estimated above $70 million and $80 million respectively. Combined, the three Klimt pieces could fetch more than $400 million, making this one of the most significant art auctions in recent memory.
During Lauder's ownership, the portrait underwent a symbolic transformation. Though Elisabeth was unmarried and only 20 when Klimt painted her, the work was known as "Portrait of Baroness Elisabeth Bachofen-Echt" when Lauder acquired it, referencing her later marriage. Braun advised changing the title back to its original form, arguing that since the portrait was commissioned while Elisabeth was single and by her family, and given how poorly her husband treated her, there was no reason to maintain the baroness designation.
The painting represents Klimt's artistic maturity during his final period, when his geometric motifs became more fluid and his brushstrokes looser. The Chinese dragon robe worn by Elisabeth in the portrait was intended as a powerful symbol, while the surrounding figures were likely based on works of Chinese art that Klimt himself collected. Legend suggests the artist was reluctant to part with this particular painting, which took years to complete, further emphasizing its significance within his body of work.
