A work by Austrian painter Gustav Klimt has become the second most expensive artwork sold at auction after Tuesday evening (November 18).
The work, ‘Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer,’ was sold during a 20-minute bidding war among six different bidders for the total of $236.4 million (£179 million), surpassing the pre-auction estimate of $150 million.
The artwork was looted by the Nazis and narrowly escaped destruction in a fire during WWII, and was returned to the Lederer family (specifically Erich Lederer) in 1948 before being sold in 1983. The painting was part of the private collection of Estée Lauder heir Leonard A. Lauder since 1985.
Several other Klimt works from Lauder's collection, including landscapes, sold for between $60 million and $80 million each at the same event.
Here are the 13 most expensive works of art ever sold at auction—a stunning look into the world's billion-dollar art market, and who Klimt surpassed to achieve the feat.
13. Leonardo da Vinci - Salvator Mundi ($450.3 Million)
Believed to be one of fewer than 20 surviving paintings by the Renaissance master, this artwork depicts Christ holding a crystal orb, symbolizing the world, and is one of the most debated and studied paintings of all time due to its contested provenance and restoration history. The extraordinary price reflects the near-mythical rarity of a genuine, available painting by Da Vinci, cementing its status as the most expensive artwork ever sold, regardless of the controversy surrounding its creation and rediscovery. | Drew Angerer/Getty Images