Experts agreed that Klimt’s “Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer” was the deserved star of the evening. “It’s uniquely special,” said Jane Kallir, founder of the Kallir Research Institute, which supports research on Austrian art. “I can think of other portraits where the palette isn’t as pleasing, or the sitter isn’t as pretty, or as youthful.”
The Klimt portrait narrowly survived World War II. The Nazis looted the works owned by the Lederer family, and much of the collection went up in flames at the end of the war. The portrait avoided the blaze.
For Klimt, who often depicted women with a gauzy, indirect gaze, Lederer’s confident pose represented a departure. “She’s looking directly at you, she’s not passive,” Emily Braun, curator of the Leonard A. Lauder Collection, said.
The close relationship between Klimt and his young subject also had an impact beyond art history: It helped save Lederer’s life. To avoid persecution during the war, she claimed to be the illegitimate daughter of Klimt, who was not Jewish and died in 1918. Elisabeth’s mother, Serena, signed an affidavit to support the ruse. (Klimt’s portrait of Serena is in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, just blocks from Lauder’s apartment.)
Inaugurating the Breuer Building’s new chapter with Lauder’s collection was “pure poetry,” according to Lisa Dennison, a Sotheby’s executive. Lauder was a longtime trustee of the Whitney, to which he donated millions in money and art.
Market players hope that this week’s auctions will change the tune of the art market. During the downturn, many collectors opted to hold back their most valuable treasures, and houses consolidated their businesses with layoffs and buyouts. Sotheby’s sold a stake of its business to ADQ, Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund. More bad news from the art industry came on the day before the sale: A storied gallery, Sperone Westwater, called it quits after nearly 50 years.