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Klimt portrait becomes "most valuable" modern artwork, selling for $236.4M

Gustav Klimt's "Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer" sold at Sotheby's inaugural auction at the Breuer Building in New York City for $236.4 million, the auctioneer announced Tuesday.Why it matters: The six-foot-tall painting by the Austrian painter is now both the "most valuable" modern artwork and the second-most expensive piece ever to be sold at auction, per a Sotheby's statement.The big picture: Six bidders battled it out for some 19 minutes Tuesday, as the bidding price surpassed the $150 million estimate for the portrait that Klimt painted between 1914 and 1916 that depicts Elisabeth Lederer, the daughter of his patrons, in an imperial Chinese dragon robe.The painting was looted by the Nazis during the Second World War, but Sotheby's noted in a statement that "the canvas narrowly escaped the fate of other works by Klimt in the Lederers' collection, which were likewise seized but ultimately destroyed in a fire at the war's end."Flashback: Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen's art collection smashes auction recordEditor's note: This article has been updated with additional details throughout.

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