Barbra Streisand has never been shy about her wins. This time, she opened up about a loss.
It started quietly, with a headline she could not ignore. A Gustav Klimt portrait shattered records at auction in 2025, selling for an astonishing $236 million. The art world celebrated history being made. Barbra did something else. She remembered the Klimt she once owned and let go.
In 1969, long before nine figure prices ruled the market, Streisand bought a haunting Klimt painting titled Ria Munk on her Deathbed. She paid $17,000 at a London hotel. At the time, it felt expensive. The painting stayed with her for nearly three decades, watching her life and career evolve around it.
Then came a decision she would later question. Her interests shifted toward Frank Lloyd Wright and the Arts and Crafts movement. The Klimt no longer fit her collecting path. In the late 1990s, she sold it privately, likely for under $1 million.
When the recent Klimt record hit the news, Streisand shared her reaction on Instagram. The regret was clear and personal. She was not mourning money. She was mourning history. A piece of her own story had slipped through her hands.
Barbra Streisand’s $100 Million Art Regret: The Klimt She Let Go!
In November 2025, a different Gustav Klimt portrait, Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer, sold for an astonishing $236.4 million at Sotheby’s New York. The sale was historic, emotional, and impossible to ignore. This was the kind of destiny Streisand’s own Klimt could have reached. Seeing that painting celebrated, studied, and elevated to legend forced a painful comparison.
Gustav Klimt Portrait Takes the Title of Most Expensive Work of Modern Art Ever Sold | Sotheby’s
In this rare video, she walks through her home and explains how art, architecture, and design shape her daily life. She speaks about Frank Lloyd Wright, Arts and Crafts furniture, and why every object must feel lived with, not stored away. This is the mindset that led her to sell the Klimt.