Gustav Klimt painting becomes second most expensive artwork sold at auction

The portrait of Austrian heiress Elisabeth Lederer was looted by the Nazis and almost destroyed.

Watch LiveBritish Broadcasting CorporationHomeNewsSportBusinessInnovationCultureArtsTravelEarthAudioVideoLiveDocumentariesHomeNewsIsrael-Gaza WarWar in UkraineUS & CanadaUKUK PoliticsEnglandN. IrelandN. Ireland PoliticsScotlandScotland PoliticsWalesWales PoliticsAfricaAsiaChinaIndiaAustraliaEuropeLatin AmericaMiddle EastIn PicturesBBC InDepthBBC VerifySportBusinessExecutive LoungeTechnology of BusinessFuture of BusinessInnovationWatch DocumentariesTechnologyScience & HealthArtificial IntelligenceAI v the MindCultureWatch DocumentariesFilm & TVMusicArt & DesignStyleBooksEntertainment NewsArtsWatch DocumentariesArts in MotionTravelWatch DocumentariesDestinationsAfricaAntarcticaAsiaAustralia and PacificCaribbean & BermudaCentral AmericaEuropeMiddle EastNorth AmericaSouth AmericaWorld’s TableCulture & ExperiencesAdventuresThe SpeciaListTo the Ends of The Earth EarthWatch DocumentariesNatural WondersWeather & ScienceClimate SolutionsSustainable BusinessGreen LivingAudioPodcast CategoriesRadioAudio FAQsVideoWatch DocumentariesBBC MaestroLiveLive NewsLive SportDocumentariesHomeNewsSportBusinessInnovationCultureArtsTravelEarthAudioVideoLiveDocumentariesWeatherNewslettersWatch LiveKlimt painting second-most expensive artwork sold at auction1 day agoShareSaveRachel Muller-HeyndykShareSaveWatch: Moment a Gustav Klimt painting sells for record amountA portrait by the Austrian artist Gustav Klimt was sold for $236.4m (£179m) in New York on Tuesday, making it the second-most expensive piece ever sold at auction.

Six people took part in a 20-minute bidding battle for the Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer which was painted between 1914 and 1916.

Auction house Sotheby's has not disclosed the buyer's identity.

The portrait was looted by the Nazis and almost destroyed in a fire in World War Two, but was rescued in 1948.

The artwork was returned to Lederer's brother, Erich, a friend and subject of Klimt's contemporary, Egon Schiele. The piece remained in Lederer's possession for most of his life, before he sold it in 1983, according to Sotheby's.