Long-lost Gustav Klimt painting sold to Hong Kong bidder for US$32 million at Vienna auction
- The intensely coloured Portrait of Fraulein Lieser is one of the last works by the Austrian modernist artist
- The Jewish owners had fled Austria after 1930 and lost most of their possessions
A portrait of a young woman by Gustav Klimt that was long believed to be lost was sold at an auction in Vienna on Wednesday for €30 million (US$32 million).
The Austrian modernist artist started work on the “Portrait of Fraulein Lieser” in 1917, the year before he died, and it is one of his last works. Bidding started at €28 million, and the sale price was at the lower end of an expected range of €30-€50 million.
The painting went to a bidder from Hong Kong, who was not identified.
The Im Kinsky auction house said that “a painting of such rarity, artistic significance, and value has not been available on the art market in Central Europe for decades”.
The intensely coloured painting was auctioned on behalf of the current owners, Austrian private citizens whose names were not released, and the legal heirs of Adolf and Henriette Lieser, one of whom is believed to have commissioned the painting. It is not entirely clear which member of the Lieser family was the model.
