3 weeks ago
4/24: CBS Morning News
A image of a young female by Gustav Klimt that was agelong believed to beryllium mislaid was sold astatine an auction successful Vienna connected Wednesday for $32 million.
The Austrian modernist creator started activity connected nan "Portrait of Fräulein Lieser" successful 1917, nan twelvemonth earlier he died, and it is 1 of his past works. Bidding started astatine 28 cardinal euros, and nan waste value was astatine nan little extremity of an expected scope of 30-50 cardinal euros.
The coating went to a bidder from Hong Kong, who wasn't identified.
Gustav Klimt's "Portrait of Fräulein Lieser"
IM KINSKY
The Im Kinsky auction location said that "a coating of specified rarity, creator significance, and worth has not been disposable connected nan creation marketplace successful Central Europe for decades."
The intensely colored coating was auctioned connected behalf of nan existent owners, Austrian backstage citizens whose names weren't released, and nan ineligible heirs of Adolf and Henriette Lieser, members of a able Jewish family successful Vienna who were clients of Klimt, 1 of whom is believed to person commissioned nan painting. Some experts judge nan woman successful nan coating could person been 1 of nan respective women successful nan family. Still, it is unclear who "Fräulein Lieser" is exactly.
The auction location said nan female successful nan image visited Klimt's workplace 9 times to airs for nan artist.
Klimt near nan painting, pinch mini parts unfinished, successful his workplace erstwhile he died of a changeable successful early 1918. It was past fixed to nan family who had commissioned it, according to nan auction house.
The Jewish family fled Austria aft 1930 and mislaid astir of their possessions.
It's unclear precisely what happened to nan coating betwixt 1925 and nan 1960s, a play that includes nan Nazi dictatorship. Austria was annexed by Nazi Germany successful 1938. One of nan only clues is simply a black-and-white photograph of nan image apt taken successful 1925 that came pinch a statement reading, "1925 successful possession of Mrs. Lieser, IV, Argentinierstrasse 20." There was nary different impervious of nan painting's beingness until it resurfaced early successful 2024, having apparently been secretly owned by a backstage collector for decades.
The auction location says location is nary grounds that nan coating was confiscated during nan Nazi period, but besides nary impervious that it wasn't. It ended up pinch nan existent owners done 3 successive inheritances.
In position of nan uncertainty, an statement was drawn up pinch nan existent owners and nan Liesers' heirs to spell guardant pinch nan waste nether nan Washington Principles, which were drafted successful 1998 to assistance successful resolving issues related to returning Nazi-confiscated art.
The auction location said it was very happy pinch Wednesday's result.
The waste value was an creation auction grounds for Austria. The highest value antecedently paid astatine an auction successful nan state was conscionable complete 7 cardinal euros for a activity by Frans Francken nan Younger successful 2010.
—Caitlin O'Kane contributed to this report.
- In:
- Austria
- Art
- Nazi
