New York auctions at Sotheby’s last week demonstrated the continued strength of master artworks in the face of a cooling global market. A Gustav Klimt portrait achieved the second-highest price ever paid for a work at auction-$236.4 million-while a Frida Kahlo painting concurrently set a new record for any female artist, selling for $54.66 million [[2]].These landmark sales, detailed below, highlight enduring demand for established artists even as overall auction revenues declined by 33.5% in 2024 [[1]].
Sotheby’s in New York made headlines last week with two exceptional sales that underscored the enduring appeal of iconic artworks in the global art market, despite an overall dip in sales volume. The auctions featured works by Gustav Klimt and Frida Kahlo.
Second-Highest Price for Art at Auction
On Tuesday evening, one of the last major portraits by Gustav Klimt, “Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer” (1914-1916), sold for $236.4 million, becoming the second-highest price ever paid for a work of art at auction, trailing only Leonardo da Vinci’s “Salvator Mundi” (circa 1500), which fetched over $450 million in 2017.
The bidding war lasted over twenty minutes, with six participants driving the price up from its initial estimate of $150 million before the hammer fell to an undisclosed buyer. The painting is a rare example from Klimt’s peak creative period between 1912 and 1917, as most works from that time are held in major museum collections, with few available for private collectors.
“Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer“ by Gustav Klimt. (Sotheby’s)
The painting depicts the daughter of one of Klimt’s patrons wearing a white Chinese imperial robe against a blue, decorative background inspired by Asian culture, creating a visually rich composition that showcases the Austrian artist’s late style. The sale comes at a time when the global auction market is experiencing a slowdown, with revenues down 33.5% in 2024, according to a report by Artprice.
A New Historic High for Female Artists
Sotheby’s also saw another historic sale on Thursday, with Frida Kahlo’s “Dream (The Bed)” selling for $54.66 million to an anonymous buyer, establishing a new record for the most expensive work by a female artist ever sold at auction.
Created in 1940, during a turbulent period in her personal life and complex relationship with Diego Rivera, the painting now holds the top spot for the highest price achieved by a female artist, surpassing Georgia O’Keeffe’s $44.4 million record set in 2014. This sale underscores the growing recognition and value placed on works by female artists in the art world.
“Dream, The Bed” (1940) by Frida Kahlo. (Sotheby’s)
The artwork portrays the artist lying on a bed that appears to float in the sky, topped by a massive skeleton with dynamite sticks wrapped around its legs. According to Anna di Stasi, Sotheby’s Head of Latin American Art, the painting represents “a very personal scene, in which Kahlo integrates Mexican folkloric motifs with European Surrealism.” While Kahlo consistently rejected being labeled a Surrealist, the painting’s striking visual symbols align with the movement’s aesthetic.
The presence of the skeleton in the painting is deeply connected to Kahlo’s personal experiences, as she kept a similar figure made of paper mache above her bed as a constant reminder of the pain and mortality that marked her life, from childhood polio to a devastating traffic accident that profoundly impacted her body and creative path.
