Sotheby's inaugurated its new Breuer Building headquarters in New York with a record-breaking evening on 18 November, achieving US$706 million across two sales – the highest total ever recorded in a single night in the auction house's 281-year history.
Beyond Gustav Klimt's US$236 million portrait – now the second most expensive painting ever auctioned – one of the evening’s most buzzed-about lots was a toilet: Maurizio Cattelan's America (2016), a solid-gold, fully functioning sculpture.
First exhibited at the Guggenheim and later stolen from Blenheim Palace, the work sold for US$12.1 million to US-based franchise Ripley's Believe It or Not!. The seller was reportedly Steven Cohen, the hedge fund billionaire, MoMA trustee, and owner of the New York Mets.
America hammered at US$10 million
Earlier in the evening, Sotheby's offered the Leonard A. Lauder Collection, a tightly curated group of early 20th-century masterpieces assembled by the longtime Estée Lauder CEO and second-generation heir. Including the Klimt portrait, the single-owner sale achieved a remarkable US$527.5 million, with all 24 lots sold – far surpassing its low estimate of US$379.2 million.
Strong international bidding, particularly from Asia, drove many lots past their high estimates. Highlights included two Klimt landscapes, which brought a combined US$154.3 million, and six rare Matisse bronzes, which fetched US$49 million amid robust demand.
Editor’s Note: For more on Klimt’s record-breaking portrait, see the related article: At US$236.3m, Klimt’s Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer becomes the second most expensive work ever auctioned
Gustav Klimt's Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer sold for US$236 million, becoming the second most expensive painting ever auctioned
Highlights from the Leonard A. Lauder Collection during the auction preview
Cattelan's gold toilet goes to Ripley's for US$12m
Lot 109 | Maurizio Cattelan (b. 1960) | America, 101.2 kg of 18-karat gold
Executed in 2016, this work is number 2 from an edition of 3 plus 2 artist’s proofs
47 x 37.5 x 63.5 cm
Provenance:
- Marian Goodman Gallery, New York
- Acquired from the above in 2017 by the present owner
Estimate Upon Request
Hammer Price: US$10,000,000
Sold: US$12,110,000
Sale: The Now and Contemporary Evening Auction
Marking its auction debut, America was offered with a starting bid pegged to the price of gold, locked in at 5 p.m. that day. With gold hovering near record highs, the sculpture's 223 pounds of 18-karat gold carried a raw material value of roughly US$10 million.
During its preview at the auction house's new headquarters, the work drew over 25,000 visitors, many queuing for a firsthand look. Despite the buzz, it received only one bid, placed by Cassandra Hatton, Sotheby's Vice Chairman of Science and Natural History, on behalf of Ripley's Believe It or Not!
The buyer, known for its museums and "Odditoriums" filled with curiosities, plans to publicly display the sculpture but hasn't announced where. In a statement on Instagram, Ripley's said it is "exploring possibilities" for whether the public will be allowed to use the toilet.
Created in 2016, the work is believed to be the last known edition of America. Another version, used by over 100,000 visitors at the Guggenheim Museum, was stolen in 2019 just days after being installed at Winston Churchill's birthplace, Blenheim Palace, in the UK. Earlier this year, two men were convicted in connection with the theft. Authorities believe the stolen edition was melted down and destroyed.
US$48.3m Basquiat leads Now and Contemporary highlights
Lot 120 | Jean-Michel Basquiat (1960-1988) | Crowns (Peso Neto), acrylic, oilstick and paper collage on canvas
Executed in 1981
193.6 x 239.4 cm
Provenance:
- Annina Nosei Gallery, New York
- Private Collection (acquired from the above in April 1982)
- Jeffrey Deitch, New York
- Mr. and Mrs. Thomas E. Worrell Jr., Virginia (acquired from the above by 1992)
- Jeffrey Deitch, New York
- Private Collection (acquired from the above in December 2005)
- Acquired from the above in October 2016 by the present owner
Estimate: US$35,000,000 - 45,000,000
Hammer Price: US$41,500,000
Sold: US$48,335,000
Sale: The Now and Contemporary Evening Auction
America was one of 45 lots offered in The Now and Contemporary Evening Auction, which realized US$178.5 million against a pre-sale low estimate of US$143.6 million. The result marked a 40% increase over May’s US$127.1 million total and a 92% jump from the US$92.9 million achieved last November.
With a strong 95% sell-through rate, only two high-value works failed to sell: a 2008 untitled painting by Kerry James Marshall from the collection of Neda Young, estimated at US$10-15 million, and Barkley Hendricks's Arriving Soon (1973), estimated at US$9-12 million.
The top lot of the evening was Jean-Michel Basquiat's Crowns (Peso Neto), a large-scale 1981 painting that hammered at US$41.5 million – within its estimate of US$35-45 million – and sold for US$48.3 million with fees.
First shown at Basquiat's inaugural U.S. solo exhibition at Annina Nosei Gallery in March 1982, the painting was later included in his landmark Whitney Museum retrospective, cementing its place as a key work in his early career. Fresh to market and reportedly consigned by French actor Francis Lombrail, it sold to an Asian client bidding by phone with Jen Hua, Deputy Chairman for Asia and Chairman for China.
Jen Hua, Deputy Chairman for Asia and Chairman for China
Lot 106 | Kerry James Marshall (b. 1955) | Untitled, acrylic on fiberglass, in artist's frame
Executed in 2008
201 x 293 cm
Provenance:
- Jack Shainman Gallery, New York
- Ségalot, New York (acquired from the above)
- Acquired from the above in 2016 by the present owner
Estimate: US$10,000,000 - 15,000,000
Unsold
Lot 118 | Barkley L. Hendricks (1945 - 2017) | Arriving Soon, oil and acrylic on canvas, in two parts
Executed in 1973
184.5 x 267.3 cm
Provenance:
- Acquired directly from the artist in June 2009 by the present owner
Estimate: US$9,000,000 - 12,000,000
Unsold
Lot 116 | Yves Klein (1928 - 1962) | Sculpture éponge bleue sans titre (SE 167), dry pigment and synthetic resin on natural sponge on a metal rod mounted on stone
Executed circa 1959
138.4 x 69.9 x 54 cm
Provenance:
- The artist
- Michel Couturier, Paris
- Philippe and Denyse Durand-Ruel, Paris (acquired directly from the above in 1965)
- Thence by descent to the present owner
Estimate: US$14,000,000 - 18,000,000
Hammer Price: US$17,100,000
Sold: US$19,060,000
Sale: The Now and Contemporary Evening Auction
Another standout was a rare early blue sponge sculpture by Yves Klein, Sculpture éponge bleue sans titre (SE 167), circa 1959, which achieved US$19 million, just above its US$18 million high estimate.
Held in the Durand-Ruel family collection for over six decades and last exhibited publicly in Klein's pivotal 1967 show at The Jewish Museum, the work is one of only six sponge sculptures of its scale, three of which are now in major institutional collections. It sold to private dealer Andrew Fabricant, who secured it with a US$17.1 million bid after competing with Jen Hua.
Lot 104 | Cecily Brown (b. 1969) | High Society, oil on canvas (Auction record for the artist)
Executed in 1997-98
188 x 249.2 cm
Provenance:
- Deitch Projects, New York
- Private Collection (acquired from the above in 1998)
- Sotheby's New York, 10 May 2006, lot 3 (consigned by the above)
- Acquired at the above sale by the present owner
Estimate: US$4,000,000 - 6,000,000
Hammer Price: US$8,000,000
Sold: US$9,810,000
Sale: The Now and Contemporary Evening Auction
Strong bidding continued with Cecily Brown, who set a new secondary-market record when her 1997-98 painting High Society drew competition from six bidders and climbed from a US$4 million starting bid to a US$8 million hammer price. It sold for US$9.8 million with fees, surpassing her previous record of US$6.8 million, set in 2018 by Approximately Last Summer (1999).
New auction records were also set for Antonio Obá, Yu Nishimura, Jess, and Noah Davis, with several works drawing active bidding from Asia. Obá’s Alvorada: Música Incidental Black Bird was again underbid by Jen Hua, while Nishimura’s thicket sold to a phone client represented by Asia Chairman Wendy Lin.
Lot 103 | Antonio Obá (b. 1983) | Alvorada - Música Incidental Black Bird, oil on canvas (Auction record for the artist)
Executed in 2020
178 x 205 cm
Provenance:
- Mendes Wood DM, São Paulo
- Private Collection, Brazil
- Acquired from the above by the present owner
Estimate: US$100,000 - 150,000
Hammer Price: US$800,000
Sold: US$1,016,000
Sale: The Now and Contemporary Evening Auction
Lot 105 | Yu Nishimura (b. 1982) | thicket, oil on canvas (Auction record for the artist)
Executed in 2020
259.1 x 182.3 cm
Provenance:
- Crèvecœur, Paris
- Acquired from the above in 2020 by the present owner
Estimate: US$80,000 - 120,000
Hammer Price: US$560,000
Sold: US$711,200
Sale: The Now and Contemporary Evening Auction
Asia Chairman Wendy Lin won thicket for her client
Klimt brought in US$391m and Asia presence felt
The Leonard A. Lauder Collection Evening Sale marked the first auction at Sotheby’s new headquarters in the former home to the Whitney Museum of American Art, where Lauder had a long and influential history as a major patron and former chairman.
The sale followed Lauder’s death in June 2025 at age 92. Often described as “the last of the great American art patrons,” he was co-heir to the Estée Lauder cosmetics empire and played a pivotal role in transforming it from a single-brand business into a global beauty leader.
Sotheby's new Breuer Building headquarters in New York
At a time when trophy-level consignments are increasingly rare, the Lauder collection was hotly contested: 83% of works sold above their high estimates, with bidding from collectors around the world – and particularly strong participation from Asia, where buyers competed for nearly every major lot across both sales.
Among the top four lots in the single-owner sale was Edvard Munch’s Midsummer Night, a moody nocturnal scene targeted by Patti Wong, co-founder of Patti Wong & Associates and a founding member of New Perspective Art Partners. Chased by three bidders over the course of seven minutes, the painting hammered at its high estimate of US$30 million and sold for US$35.1 million with fees.
Lot 6 | Edvard Munch (1863 - 1944) | Sankthansnatt (Midsummer Night), oil on canvas
Executed circa 1901-03
105 x 99.8 cm
Provenance:
- Anton Fredrik Klaveness II, Oslo (acquired by 1916)
- Anton Fredrik Klaveness III, Oslo (acquired by descent from the above)
- Estée and Joseph Lauder, Palm Beach (acquired from the above through Hirschl & Adler Galleries on 19 October 1976)
- Thence by descent to the present owner
Estimate: US$20,000,000 - 30,000,000
Hammer Price: US$30,000,000
Sold: US$35,110,000
Sale: Leonard A. Lauder, Collector | Evening Auction
Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer became the most expensive work ever auctioned by Sotheby's
The crown jewel of the evening – and, by pre-sale estimates, the star of the entire New York auction season – was Gustav Klimt's Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer (1914-16). Expected to fetch US$150 million, the luminous portrait achieved US$236.3 million with fees, setting a new auction record for both the artist and for any modern work of art.
Two additional Klimts – both landscapes inspired by the artist's summers at the Attersee – also drew strong results. Blooming Meadow (c. 1908), a densely patterned composition of wildflowers and fruit trees, brought US$86 million, meeting its estimate in excess of US$80 million. Forest Slope at Unterach on the Attersee (1916), depicting a hillside above the lake with a mosaic of rooftops, fetched US$68.3 million, just shy of its estimate of US$70 million.
Notably, Patti Wong bid on all three Klimt masterpieces on behalf of three different Asian buyers. She secured Forest Slope at Unterach – her third and final attempt – for one of her clients.
Another two pencil studies by the artist also exceeded expectations, bringing Klimt's total for the evening to US$391.7 million.
Lot 11 | Gustav Klimt (1862 - 1918) | Blumenwiese (Blooming Meadow), oil on canvas
Executed circa 1908
110 x 110 cm
Provenance:
- Broncia Koller-Pinell and Dr. Hugo Koller, Vienna and Oberwaltersdorf (acquired by 1928)
- Rupert Koller and Silvia Koller, Vienna (acquired by descent from the above by 1949)
- Kunsthandlung Franz Schebesta's Erben, Vienna
- Private Collection, Vienna
- Serge Sabarsky Gallery, New York (acquired by 1983)
- Acquired from the above in December 1985 by the present owner
Estimate Upon Request
Hammer Price: US$75,000,000
Sold: US$86,000,000
Sale: Leonard A. Lauder, Collector | Evening Auction
Lot 14 | Gustav Klimt (1862 - 1918) | Waldabhang bei Unterach am Attersee (Forest Slope in Unterach on the Attersee), oil on canvas
Executed in 1916
110 x 110 cm
Provenance:
- Heinrich Böhler, Vienna and St. Moritz
- Mabel Forbes Böhler, St. Moritz and Lugano (acquired by descent from the above in 1940)
- Karleen Forbes Nash (acquired by descent from the above, her sister, and until 1971)
- Acquired in December 1972 by the present owner
Estimate Upon Request
Hammer Price: US$61,000,000
Sold: US$68,320,000
Sale: Leonard A. Lauder, Collector | Evening Auction
Lot 9 | Gustav Klimt (1862 - 1918) | Sitzend von vorne mit ausgestrecktem linkem Arm, das Kinn aufgestützt (Studie für das Porträt I der Adele Bloch-Bauer) (Study for Portrait I of Adele Bloch-Bauer), pencil on paper
Executed in 1903-04
45.7 x 31.4 cm
Provenance:
- Kornfeld und Klipstein, Bern, 13 June 1968, lot 495b
- Serge Sabarsky Gallery, New York (acquired at the above sale)
- Acquired from the above on 6 December 1968 by the present owner
Estimate: US$150,000 - 250,000
Hammer Price: US$410,000
Sold: US$520,700
Sale: Leonard A. Lauder, Collector | Evening Auction
Modern icons beyond the blockbuster Klimts
Lot 1 | Alexander Calder (1898 - 1976) | Untitled, sheet metal, brass, wire and paint
Executed circa 1953
12.7 x 11.4 x 3.8 cm
Provenance:
- Galerie Maeght, Paris
- Galerie Claude Bernard, Paris
- Private Collection, New York (acquired from the above circa 1963)
- James Goodman Gallery, New York (acquired from the above in 2002)
- Russeck Gallery, Palm Beach (acquired from the above in 2002)
- John Berggruen Gallery, San Francisco (acquired from the above in 2006)
- Acquired from the above in May 2006 by the present owner
Estimate: US$200,000 - 300,000
Hammer Price: US$700,000
Sold: US$889,000
Sale: Leonard A. Lauder, Collector | Evening Auction
Lot 2 | Alexander Calder (1898 - 1976) | Four White on Little Red, sheet metal, brass, wire and paint
Executed in 1959
5.7 x 13.3 x 3.8 cm
Provenance:
- Perls Galleries, New York
- Annette Mark, New York (acquired from the above circa 1959)
- PaceWildenstein, New York (acquired from the above in 2004)
- Russeck Gallery, Palm Beach (acquired from the above in 2004)
- John Berggruen Gallery, San Francisco (acquired from the above in 2006)
- Acquired from the above in May 2006 by the present owner
Estimate: US$200,000 - 300,000
Hammer Price: US$520,000
Sold: US$660,400
Sale: Leonard A. Lauder, Collector | Evening Auction
The Lauder sale began with two Alexander Calder mobiles. An untitled work from circa 1953 exceeded expectations, hammering at US$700,000 and selling for US$889,000 with fees. Four White on Little Red (1959) followed with a solid result, bringing US$660,400 with fees.
A group of six Henri Matisse bronzes also drew robust demand, generating a combined US$49 million – well above the US$30.8-42.6 million presale range. Leading the group was Figure décorative, considered one of Matisse's earliest and most significant explorations of the classical nude. Estimated at US$12-18 million, it sold for US$16.71 million after attracting five bidders, marking the second-highest price ever achieved for a Matisse bronze at auction.
Lot 7 | Henri Matisse (1869 - 1954) | Figure décorative, bronze
Conceived in Paris in August 1908 and cast in 1950
Height: 72.1 cm
Provenance:
- Theodor and Ulla Ahrenberg, Stockholm
- Sotheby’s, London, 7 July 1960, lot 24 (consigned by the above)
- The Hanover Gallery, London (acquired at the above sale)
- Pace Gallery, Boston
- Wilfred P. and Rose Cohen, New York (acquired by 1984)
- Pat and Irving C. Deal, Dallas (acquired by January 1986)
- Acquired from the above on 2 January 1990 by the present owner
Estimate: US$12,000,000 - 18,000,000
Hammer Price: US$14,500,000
Sold: US$16,710,000
Sale: Leonard A. Lauder, Collector | Evening Auction
Lot 5 | Henri Matisse (1869 - 1954) | La Serpentine, bronze
Conceived in Issy-les-Moulineaux in 1909 and cast in 1951
Height: 40.2 cm
Provenance:
- Estate of the artist
- Pierre and Tana Matisse Foundation, New York
- Acquired from the above on 18 June 2002 by the present owner
Estimate: US$9,000,000 - 12,000,000
Hammer Price: US$14,000,000
Sold: US$6,705,000
Sale: Leonard A. Lauder, Collector | Evening Auction
Lot 22 | Henri Matisse (1869 - 1954) | Henriette III (Grosse tête souriante), bronze
Conceived in Nice in 1929 and cast in 1954
Height: 40.2 cm
Provenance:
- Estate of the artist
- Private Collection
- Sotheby’s, New York, 15 November 1989, lot 50 (consigned by the above)
- Private Collection (acquired at the above sale)
- Christie’s, New York, 7 September 1995, lot 42
- Acquired at the above sale by the present owner
Estimate: US$800,000 - 1,200,000
Hammer Price: US$1,050,000
Sold: US$1,299,500
Sale: Leonard A. Lauder, Collector | Evening Auction
Shortly before, Vincent van Gogh's pen-and-ink drawing Dans un champ de blé au soleil couchant (1888) sold for US$11.1 million, slightly above its high estimate. Acquired by Lauder from his parents, Estée and Joseph Lauder, in 1979, the drawing now holds the auction record for a Van Gogh work on paper.
Agnes Martin's subtle, multicolored grid painting, The Garden (1964), ignited a 10-minute bidding contest among three parties. The work hammered just below its US$15 million high estimate at US$14.8 million, selling for US$17.63 million with fees to private dealer Philippe Ségalot.
Lot 4 | Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890) | Le Semeur dans un champ de blé au soleil couchant, reed pen and ink and pencil on paper (Auction record for a Van Gogh work on paper)
Executed in Arles in mid-July 1888
24.4 x 32.7 cm
Provenance:
- Émile Bernard, Brittany (acquired directly from the artist in July 1888)
- Ambroise Vollard, Paris (probably acquired from the above between 1899-1904)
- Théodore Duret, Paris
- Hôtel Drouot, Paris, 1 March 1928, lot 41 (consigned by the estate of the above)
- Émile Bernheim, Paris and Galerie Thannhauser, Berlin (jointly acquired at the above sale)
- Galerie Thannhauser, Berlin (acquired in whole from Bernheim on 3 March 1928)
- Galerie Caspari, Munich (acquired from the above on 26 June 1929)
- Paul Reinhardt Galleries, New York (acquired from the above probably in August 1929)
- John Nicholas Brown II, Rhode Island (acquired by descent from the above)
- J. Carter Brown, Washington, D.C. (acquired by descent from the above)
- Estée and Joseph Lauder, New York (acquired from the above in 1979)
- Thence by descent to the present owner
Estimate: US$8,000,000 - 10,000,000
Hammer Price: US$9,500,000
Sold: US$11,155,000
Sale: Leonard A. Lauder, Collector | Evening Auction
Lot 12 | Agnes Martin (1912 - 2004) | The Garden, oil and graphite on canvas
Executed in 1964
182.9 x 182.9 cm
Provenance:
- Robert Elkon Gallery, New York
- Samuel Wagstaff, New York (acquired by 1972)
- Salvatore Ala, Milan (acquired by 1974)
- Robert Elkon Gallery, New York (acquired by 1978)
- Estée Lauder Company, New York (acquired from the above in May 1979)
- Acquired from the above in November 1995 by the present owner
Estimate: US$10,000,000 - 15,000,000
Hammer Price: US$14,800,000
Sold: US$17,630,000
Sale: Leonard A. Lauder, Collector | Evening Auction
Auction Details:
Auction House: Sotheby's New York
Date: 18 November 2025
Sale: Leonard A. Lauder, Collector | Evening Auction
Number of Lots: 24
Sold: 24
Sale Rate: 100%
Sale Total: US$527,457,600
Sale: Now and Contemporary Evening Auction
Number of Lots: 43
Sold: 41
Unsold: 2
Sale Rate: 95.3%
Sale Total: US$178,514,000