A Gustav Klimt painting, 'Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer,' sold for $236.4 million at Sotheby's in New York, setting a new record and making it the second most expensive artwork ever sold at auction. The sale involved a fierce 20-minute bidding war among twenty bidders, with the final price surpassing previous Klimt auction records and placing it behind Leonardo da Vinci's 'Salvator Mundi,' which sold for $450.3 million in 2017. The painting, created between 1914 and 1916, features the daughter of an industrialist family that frequently supported Klimt. This auction also included other notable sales, such as Maurizio Cattelan's gold toilet 'America' for $12.1 million and a portrait of Marilyn Monroe by Andy Warhol for approximately $195 million, now ranking third among the most expensive artworks. The event highlights Klimt's rising prominence among collectors, especially in Asia, and reflects ongoing high demand in the art market.