Three Gustav Klimt paintings will go under the hammer at Sotheby's New York on Tuesday, including two landscape works from Lake Attersee: "Flower Meadow" and "Forested Slope at Unterach on Lake Attersee." The auction features works from the collection of late American entrepreneur Leonard A. Lauder, who passed away in 2025 at age 92.
The highest price is expected for the portrait "Elisabeth Lederer," with estimates reaching $150 million, which would set a new world record for Klimt works. The current auction record for Klimt stands at $108.4 million for "Lady with a Fan," though private sales have achieved even higher sums.
"Forested Slope at Unterach on Lake Attersee" holds particular significance for several reasons, according to Evelyn Obermaier from the Klimt at Attersee Association. Klimt captured the motif from a rowboat or from the opposite shore using a telescope, likely taking multiple different perspectives and combining them into this single work. The painting is especially remarkable as it represents the last landscape Klimt created at Lake Attersee during his final visit there in 1916. This masterpiece is estimated at approximately $70 million.
The second Lake Attersee painting, "Flower Meadow," carries an estimated value of around $80 million. The auction will also include two studies for "Adele Bloch-Bauer I," adding to the collection of significant Klimt works available for purchase.
Despite the extraordinarily high prices, a market exists for such premium artworks, albeit a limited one. "These works are viewed as both value and financial investments, and there are definitely potential buyers who are waiting for such pieces to come to market," Obermaier explained. Whether these artworks will be accessible to the public in the future, even temporarily, depends entirely on who purchases them.
Lauder had acquired "Forested Slope at Unterach on Lake Attersee" in the 1970s as part of his extensive art collection. His decision to sell these works has created a rare opportunity for collectors to acquire some of Klimt's most significant pieces.
Klimt auction records have been steadily climbing in recent years. While "Lady with a Fan" holds the official auction record, private sales have reached even more spectacular figures. In 2017, media mogul Oprah Winfrey reportedly sold "Adele Bloch-Bauer II" to a Chinese buyer for $150 million. Even more impressive was the 2015 private sale of "Water Serpents II," which is believed to have fetched between $170 and $200 million for its new owner, making it one of the most expensive artworks ever sold privately.
