A recovered Gustav Klimt portrait made history at Sotheby’s after selling for a staggering $236.4 million, setting a new record for the most expensive modern artwork ever auctioned. The winning hammer bid was $205 million, with the remaining amount coming from buyer’s premiums and auction fees. The 1916 painting, “Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer,” survived a World War II castle fire and ignited a fierce 20-minute bidding war before an anonymous collector secured it by phone — marking one of the most dramatic and high-stakes art sales in recent history.

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