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The most expensive Klimt ever sold

The most expensive Klimt ever sold is Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer: $236.4 million at Sotheby's New York in 2025. Famous works such as The Kiss, Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I and Judith and the Head of Holofernes are in public collections, so they are not for sale and have no price.

Lived
1862–1918
From
Austrian
Movement
Symbolism · Vienna Secession
Worked in
Vienna
Portrait of Gustav Klimt
Klimt's record$236MPortrait of Elisabeth Lederer · 2025

Klimt's famous works and their prices

“Not for sale” means a public collection holds the work. Prices are nominal US dollars as reported at the time.

Klimt next to other artists

Each artist's highest documented sale, from the same research.

  1. Leonardo$450MSalvator Mundi · 2017
  2. Klimt$236MPortrait of Elisabeth Lederer · 2025
  3. Rembrandt$199MThe Standard Bearer · 2022
  4. Seurat$149MLes Poseuses, Ensemble · 2022
  5. Cézanne$138MLa Montagne Sainte-Victoire · 2022
  6. Munch$120MThe Scream · 2012
  7. Van Gogh$117MVerger avec cyprès (Orchard with Cypresses) · 2022
  8. Monet$111MMeules (Haystacks) · 2019
  9. Gauguin$106MMaternité II · 2022

Bars are to scale within this list. Source for Klimt's record: aljazeera.com.

About Gustav Klimt

Austrian Symbolist painter and a leading figure of the Vienna Secession. His celebrated "golden phase", including "Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I" and "The Kiss", fused shimmering gold leaf, intricate ornament and sensual figures. His art often explored love, desire and mortality, and frequently provoked controversy in conservative Vienna. He died in 1918, a decisive influence on modern decorative and figurative painting.

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Art Scanner result for the Mona Lisa with its $100M insured value tag
The Mona Lisa in Art Scanner: insured value $100M

Questions

What is the most expensive Klimt ever sold?

Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer, which sold for $236.4 million at Sotheby's New York in 2025. Prices are nominal US dollars as reported at the time.

How much is a Klimt painting worth?

It depends on the work. The highest documented sale is $236.4 million for Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer. Other documented sales: Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I, $135 million (2006). Works in public collections are not for sale.

Where can I see Klimt's paintings?

Among the works here: the Österreichische Galerie Belvedere, Vienna and the Neue Galerie, New York.

Who was Gustav Klimt?

Gustav Klimt (1862–1918). Austrian Symbolist painter and a leading figure of the Vienna Secession. His celebrated "golden phase", including "Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I" and "The Kiss", fused shimmering gold leaf, intricate ornament and sensual figures. His art often explored love, desire and mortality, and frequently provoked controversy in conservative Vienna. He died in 1918, a decisive influence on modern decorative and figurative painting.

Other artists