Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer
Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer, painted by Gustav Klimt between 1914 and 1916, shows Elisabeth as an ethereal, fragile figure with enormous dark eyes, surrounded by powerful Chinese dragons echoing a statue in the foyer of her parents' country home[1]. Elisabeth was the daughter of Serena and August Lederer, a spirits manufacturer; Serena was one of Klimt's most important private patrons, close enough to the artist that he had painted her own portrait in 1899 and stayed on afterward to give her drawing lessons[1]. By Elisabeth's own later account, Klimt worked on her portrait for three years, a process she remembered as involving real conflict: he threw down his pencil repeatedly, telling her mother he would draw his girl as he liked and that was final, and he warned more than once that a painter should never take on a sitter too close to him[1]. She described the sittings, despite the friction, as among the most beautiful and instructive hours of her life, though Klimt himself reportedly remained dissatisfied even after her mother had already taken the finished canvas home, murmuring that it was still not her[1]. The portrait's history afterward is one of the closest calls in Klimt's whole output. The Lederer family's Klimt collection was seized by the Nazi state in 1938, and most of it was moved to Schloss Immendorf in Lower Austria, where it was burned by retreating SS forces in May 1945[2]. This portrait was not among the paintings lost there: portraits of Jewish sitters were treated as not worth confiscating for the state collections, so it stayed behind at the Dorotheum auction house in Vienna rather than travelling to the castle. It was restituted to Elisabeth's brother, Erich Lederer, in 1948, sold on in 1983 and 1985, and auctioned by Sotheby's in New York on 18 November 2025 for 236.4 million dollars[3].
Where it is held
This painting survives. It was seized by the Nazi state in Vienna in 1938, but it escaped the fire that destroyed most of the Lederer family's other Klimts at Schloss Immendorf in May 1945, because portraits of Jewish sitters were treated as not worth confiscating for the state collections and this one stayed instead at the Dorotheum auction house[3]. It was restituted to Elisabeth's brother, Erich Lederer, in 1948, sold to the dealer Serge Sabarsky in 1983, and acquired by Leonard Lauder in 1985[3]. Sotheby's sold it in New York on 18 November 2025 for 236.4 million dollars, the highest price paid at auction for a work of modern art. It is now in an undisclosed private collection[3].
A daughter of Klimt's most devoted patron
Serena Lederer was among the most important private patrons of Klimt's career, high-spirited and close enough to the artist that he was a regular guest at the family dinner table, complaining freely there about the petit-bourgeois narrow-mindedness he encountered elsewhere[1]. Klimt had painted Serena herself in 1899 and stayed involved with the family for years afterward, at one point performing shadow-puppet caricatures of dinner guests for the Lederer children during a stay at their country house. Elisabeth grew up inside that closeness, and by the time Klimt came to paint her, he was painting a young woman he had known since she was a small child watching him work on his University of Vienna murals.
Three years, real conflict, and a verdict he never accepted
Elisabeth's own account of the sittings describes genuine friction rather than a smooth commission. Klimt worked on her portrait for three years, and by her recollection it involved months of frustration on his part, pencils thrown down, arguments with her mother Serena over how he should paint her[1]. He told Serena bluntly that he would draw his girl as he liked, and warned, as a general principle, that a painter should never take on a sitter who is too close to him. Even once the portrait was finished and Serena had already taken it home, Klimt came to see it hanging in the Lederer house and told them, simply, that it was still not her, a verdict he apparently never fully retracted.
A sitter's account written under duress
Elisabeth's later description of the sittings, calling them among the most beautiful and instructive hours of her life, survives in an unusually detailed personal affidavit about Klimt's private life and character, one of the fullest first-hand accounts of the artist that exists[1]. That document has a troubling origin. Elisabeth handed it over not to a historian but to Reich authorities investigating racial genealogy, in an attempt to protect herself from deportation after the Nazi annexation of Austria, since establishing a closer connection to Klimt was part of a defence some Lederer family members pursued in that period. A source that reads as intimate reminiscence was written, in fact, under direct threat to Elisabeth's life.
Common questions
Does the Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer still exist?
Yes. Unlike most of the Lederer family's other Klimts, which were destroyed by fire at Schloss Immendorf in May 1945, this portrait was left in Vienna rather than sent to the castle, and it survived. It was restituted to the Lederer family in 1948, and Sotheby's sold it in New York on 18 November 2025 for 236.4 million dollars[3].
How long did Klimt take to paint this portrait?
By Elisabeth Lederer's own account, three years, between 1914 and 1916. She described the process as involving real conflict, with Klimt reportedly unsatisfied with the result even after it was finished.
Who was Elisabeth Lederer?
The daughter of Serena and August Lederer, a spirits manufacturer. Serena was one of Klimt's most important private patrons, close enough to the family that he gave her drawing lessons and was a regular guest at their table.
What did the portrait show?
By a contemporary description, an ethereal, fragile Elisabeth with large dark eyes, surrounded by Chinese dragons that echoed a statue in the foyer of her parents' country home.
Sources
Editorial draws on the following references, verified against the museum and public-domain image record for this work.
- [1] book Anne-Marie O'Connor, The Lady in Gold Used for: this artwork.
- [2] book Frank Whitford, Klimt Used for: this artwork.
- [3] wikipedia Wikipedia contributors, Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer Used for: this artwork.
Editorial overseen by Solis Prints. Sources verified 2026-09-03. Click a source for details, or hover over [N] in the page above to preview.
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