Klimt Portrait Sells for Record Price – Second Most Expensive Artwork
- A Gustav Klimt portrait achieved the second-highest price ever paid for an artwork at auction, signaling continued strength in the high-end art market.
- On Tuesday, November 18, 2025, Gustav Klimt's "Portrait of a Lady (Adele Bloch-Bauer I)" sold for $236.4 million at auction in New York City,according to France 24.
- "Portrait of a Lady (Adele Bloch-Bauer I)" is a 1907 painting by austrian Symbolist painter gustav Klimt.
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Klimt’s “Portrait of a Lady” Shatters Auction Records, Reaching $236.4 Million
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A Gustav Klimt portrait achieved the second-highest price ever paid for an artwork at auction, signaling continued strength in the high-end art market.
Published November 19, 2025, at 05:52 AM PST
Record-Breaking Sale in New York
On Tuesday, November 18, 2025, Gustav Klimt’s “Portrait of a Lady (Adele Bloch-Bauer I)” sold for $236.4 million at auction in New York City,according to France 24. The intense bidding war lasted 20 minutes, involving six determined bidders. This price positions the painting as the second most expensive artwork ever sold at auction, surpassed only by Leonardo da Vinci’s “Salvator Mundi,” which sold for $450.3 million in 2017 (Christie’s).
About the Painting and its history
“Portrait of a Lady (Adele Bloch-Bauer I)” is a 1907 painting by austrian Symbolist painter gustav Klimt. The subject, Adele Bloch-Bauer, was a prominent figure in Viennese society and the wife of industrialist Ferdinand Bloch-Bauer. The painting is renowned for its opulent use of gold leaf and intricate decorative patterns, characteristic of Klimt’s “Golden Phase.”
The painting has a complex and controversial history. It was looted by the Nazis during World War II from the Bloch-Bauer family, who were Jewish. After decades of legal battles, the painting was finally restituted to maria Altmann, Bloch-Bauer’s niece, in 2006 (The New York Times). Altmann afterward sold the painting to Ronald Lauder, who placed it on long-term loan to the Neue Galerie in New York City.
Notable Klimt Works and Auction Prices
| Artwork | Year | Auction Price |
|---|---|---|
| “Portrait of a Lady (Adele bloch-Bauer I)” | 1907 | $236.4 million (2025) |
| “Dame mit Fächer (Lady with a Fan)” | 1917-18 | $108.4 million (2023)
|