Since January this year, the art world has eagerly watched Vienna. Local auction house im Kinsky, announced it would auction a sensational late portrait by Gustav Klimt that had been missing for nearly 100 years.
See also: Lost for 100 Years, A Rediscovered Klimt Portrait Now Goes to Auction
The portrait was of a member of the prominent Viennese Lieser family. Klimt received the commission in the spring of 1917. The young lady depicted visited his studio nine times, resulting in 25 studies. One of these was also auctioned off yesterday evening.
When Gustav Klimt died in early February 1918, the portrait was still unfinished. It was handed over to the Lieser family and was part of a Klimt retrospective at the Neue Galerie in Vienna in 1925, where a black-and-white photograph of it was taken. After that, the painting disappeared from public view.
See also: Gustav Klimt: Artist of Emotion and Eroticism
When the rediscovered portrait of Miss Lieser went to auction on 24 April in Vienna, expectations were high. The estimated price was 30-50 million euros (about £26 to £43 million). A bidder from Hong Kong, represented by Patti Wong & Associates, secured the painting for 30 million euros (about £26 million), setting a record for the highest price ever paid for an artwork in Austria.
"We are delighted with the result, though not surprised, as it meets international standards," said Claudia Mörth-Gasser, the auction house's expert on Gustav Klimt's works. "At im Kinsky, we have specialised in top Central European art for three decades."
Due to the high interest, the auction house extended the Gustav Klimt Sale exhibition. Visitors will have the opportunity to view the portrait on 29 and 30 April, as well as on 2 and 3 May.
