Klimt's 'Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer' goes for $236.4 million, becoming priciest modern artwork ever auctioned

Gustav Klimt's "Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer" sold for an astonishing $236.4 million Tuesday, making it the most expensive auction sale of a work of modern art. The price also means it is the second-most-valuable work of art that has crossed an auction block

Gustav Klimt's "Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer" sold for an astonishing $236.4 million Tuesday, making it the most expensive auction sale of a work of modern art.

The price also means it is the second-most-valuable work of art that has crossed an auction block.

The sale Tuesday at Sotheby's came from one of the most anticipated art sales in the last several years: the private art collection of Leonard Lauder, the philanthropist, cosmetics heir and legendary collector who helped shape American museums — much like his mother, Estée Lauder, shaped beauty culture as a giant of cosmetics.

The pieces in Tuesday's sale fetched more than a half a billion dollars, with Sotheby's still working to confirm a final number Tuesday night — and with 30 more lots to be auctioned Wednesday, a spokesperson said.

In addition to the “Elisabeth Lederer,” two more majestic Klimt landscapes were for sale: “Blooming Meadow,” estimated at $80 million, created in 1906 at the height of his career, and “Forest Slope in Unteach,” estimated at $70 million, painted in 1917. The latter shows a dense forest overlooking the Attersee lake in Austria.