A Gustav Klimt painting has become the most expensive piece of modern art ever after it was sold at auction. On Tuesday (18 November), The Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer was bought for $236.4m (£180m) by an unnamed buyer following a 20-minute bidding war at Sotheby's.

At $236.4 million, a portrait by Gustav Klimt is the second most expensive painting sold at auction, while Maurizio Cattelan’s golden toilet drew $12.1 million.

The auction house’s debut at the Breuer was defined by Gustav Klimt’s late portrait soaring to $236.4 million, anchoring the $527.5 million white-glove sale of the Leonard A. Lauder