Klimt Leads Sotheby's $527.5m Leonard Lauder Sale

A work by Gustav Klimt, which had a guarantee, was the headline sale at Sotheby's 'Leonard A. Lauder, Collector | Evening Auction' on November 18 in New York.

• The sale totaled $527.5m, exceeding the pre-sale high estimate.

Snapshot of the sale

• 24 works sold totaling $527.5m.
• Estimates totaled: $379.2m (low) and $412.4m (high), excluding premiums.
• The sell-through rate was 100%, so a white-glove sale.

The star lot was: Gustav Klimt, Bildnis Elisabeth Lederer (Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer) (1914), which sold for $236.4m, 57% above its $150m low estimate. The work was backed by a guarantee. It has been traded 6 times in the past.

The outperformer sold for 503% above its low estimate. Gustav Klimt, Stehend von vorne (Studie für Bildnis Adele Bloch-Bauer) (Study for Portrait I of Adele Bloch-Bauer) (1903), sold for $482,600 ($80,000 low estimate). The work was backed by a guarantee.

• 20 works, or 83%, sold above their high estimate.
• 3 works, or 12%, sold within their low and high estimate.
• 1 works, or 4%, sold below their low estimate.

Guaranteed sales

24 works were backed by guarantees, including: Gustav Klimt, Blumenwiese (Blooming Meadow) (1908). It sold for $86m, 7% above its $80m low estimate.. It has been traded 5 times in the past.

Works that did not sell

0 works were bought-in.

Withdrawn before the sale

0 works were withdrawn

Terms and definitions

All results include the fees and premiums added to the price of a work of art when the auctioneer's hammer falls. Sale prices are compared to the auction house’s low estimate, which do not include premiums.

Guarantees: Sometimes an auction house guarantees to pay a seller for a work, regardless of whether the bidding reaches the reserve price, a figure that is typically confidential.

Bought-in: If there are no bids for a work, or if bidding falls short of the reserve price, the lot is unsold or “bought-in”.

Withdrawn: This happens when a seller decides, for whatever reason, to withdraw a work before the bidding begins.

Premiums: Typically a sliding-scale of charges paid in addition to the hammer price by the buyer, plus any other fees.