Tuesday, June 20, 2006

The $135 million painting

Carol Vogel had this report in The New York Times yesterday on Ronald Lauder's purchase, for the Neue Galerie, of a 1907 Klimt portrait for a record $135 million. The painting was for many years the subject of a restitution battle with the Austrian government. In January, it was returned, along with four other Nazi-looted Klimt paintings, to descendants of the original owner, who will now share the sales proceeds. A couple years back, Tyler Cowen had this post on what else you can buy for $100 million.