An Estée Lauder Heir’s Klimt Portrait Could Fetch a Whopping $150 Million at Auction

A trio of Gustav Klimt paintings are causing quite the stir on the auction market.

The three works from the famed Austrian painter, all of which are hitting the block for the first time, will go under the hammer at a Sotheby’s sale this month. The auction will show off the art-filled treasure trove of Leonard A. Lauder, the art philanthropist and heir of the Estée Lauder empire who died in June. Of course, the pieces’ appearance isn’t the only thing drawing attention to the sale: The 24-lot event is expected to realize more than $400 million, an impressive figure befitting of Lauder’s collection.

Driving that staggering figure is Klimt’s Porträt der Elisabeth Lederer (Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer), which is predicted to fetch over $150 million. Painted from 1914 to 1916, during the pivotal golden age in Vienna, the piece is one of only two commissioned works from the artist to remain in private hands—until now, of course. (Most paintings of a similar nature are now housed in museum collections.) The artwork depicts a 20-year-old named Elisabeth Lederer, the daughter of Klimt’s ardent patrons, August and Serena Lederer. In it, the woman is wearing the then-modern attire of Viennese society, donning a white-and-blue dress and robe; the background, meanwhile, is full of East Asian motifs, representing Klimt’s fondness of Chinese and Japanese artifacts.

The other two Klimts on offer are nothing to sniff at, either. Blumenwiese (Blooming Meadow) came to life around 1908, joining the artist’s collection of famed landscapes that are considered some of the most important works of the 20th century. In this instance, Klimt is depicting his summer spot of choice, Attersee, on a square-format canvas. Here, vibrant colors combine to complete a mosaic of flowers and trees that extends far into the distance. Blumenwiese is expected to fetch more than $80 million on the block. Waldabhang in Unterach am Attersee (Forest Slope in Unterach on the Attersee), meanwhile, is estimated to rake in more than $70 million. This piece, created in 1916, shows the details of Klimt’s last summer in his Attersee haven, with trees and various homes seen dotting the area’s lake.

“To have not just one but three rare, superb museum-quality masterpieces by Klimt, none of which has previously been offered at auction, coming up for sale together represents a truly unique moment,” Helena Newman, Sotheby’s chairman of impressionist and modern art worldwide, said in a press statement. “The Portrait of Elizabeth Lederer epitomizes the aesthetic of Vienna’s Golden Age in which youth, beauty, color and ornament are fused into a stunning Modernist portrait whilst the two exquisite square format landscapes, Blumenwiese, 1908, and Waldabhang in Unterach am Attersee, 1916, attest to Klimt’s liberation from the traditional conventions of painting.”