Barbra Streisand regrets selling Klimt painting

NEW YORK

Barbra Streisand has expressed renewed regret over selling a Gustav Klimt painting nearly three decades ago, after another work by the Austrian painter soared to $236 million at auction.

In an Instagram post, the actor and singer said she still thinks about the Klimt piece she owned early in her career: “Miss Ria Munk on Her Deathbed.”

Streisand purchased the work in 1969 for $17,000, a considerable sum at the time. She eventually sold it in 1998, explaining that her artistic interests had shifted toward Frank Lloyd Wright designs and the broader Arts & Crafts movement.

“Oh how I regret selling her. You should never sell art you truly love,” Streisand wrote, adding that letting the painting go now feels like a “mistake.”

Her comments came shortly after Klimt’s “Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer” set off headlines worldwide when it sold at Sotheby’s for $236 million, making it the most expensive Klimt work ever sold in the modern category.

The portrait depicts a young woman from a prominent Vienna family and is noted for its complex historical background, including its connection to the Nazi era and the family’s efforts to safeguard their collection at the time.

Streisand’s reflection has sparked fresh conversation among collectors and art historians about the emotional weight of ownership and the unpredictability of the art market. For many, her words underline a familiar sentiment: Financial value may rise and fall, but the loss of a beloved artwork can linger far longer.