I will come on to the eye-watering purchase price shortly, but let’s start with the art. Is the painting any good?
Well, having spent a lost afternoon one-on-one with the Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer last month in New York, I can report that Gustav Klimt’s full-length society portrait is a total knockout. It might be more than 100 years old, but it has a freshness and immediacy as if it were painted yesterday. The pyramidal composition grabs you by the lapels and pulls you in like a magical, magnetic force. It is big and beautiful and deliciously inviting – for me, at least, without any guards or alarms to stop my progress as I came nose-to-nose with Elisabeth
Up close, the surface appears to vibrate, an effect created by the mesmerising patchwork of Klimt’s thinly applied short brushstrokes that see colours modifying one another into a coherent design. Elisabeth stands contrapposto, inviting you into her sensuous inner world full of colour and elegance.
Walter Benjamin, the German critic and philosopher, wrote an essay in the 1930s in which he claimed great pictures have an “aura”. I agree. To encounter Klimt’s portrait in private, without any distractions, is a fully immersive psychological experience.
The Viennese artist has long been a favourite of wealthy collectors, and with good reason. Or reasons, should I say. By and large, people don’t become wealthy enough to buy A-grade art without being quite clever. A genuine connoisseur like Leonard Lauder knows a good picture when he sees one. What’s more, the portrait possesses the holy trinity of attributes for serious collectors: it is an extremely rare museum quality artwork, it is in very good condition, and it boasts a rock-solid provenance – with the added benefit of having a famous art historical backstory rooted in the romance of the Viennese Secession.
There is another reason why the picture fetched so much. Unlike a lot of modern and contemporary art, Klimt’s highly decorative style looks sensational in a domestic setting. The Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer is a pleasure to live with, she might be near life-size, but she fits in, rather than dominates. Lauder hung the picture in his New York home between two huge windows as if Elisabeth had just arrived from Central Park.
Matisse, who was undoubtably an inspiration for Klimt, once said owning art should be like owning a comfy armchair. If that is the case, the new owner has an asset they can sink into and relax and enjoy every day.
Will Gompertz is director of Sir John Soane’s Museum
Photograph by Alexi Rosenfeld/Getty Images