Gustav Klimt’s “Portrait of Miss Lieser” was sold for 30 million euros at an auction in Vienna

The unfinished late work of Gustav Klimt – “Portrait of Miss Lizer” was sold at an auction in the Viennese auction house “Im Kinski” for 30 million euros. Along with the additional costs, the work changed hands for a total of 35 million euros. This is a new record for the “Im Kinski” auction house, which organized the auction, as well as a record for an auction held in Austria, reports Tsvetana Delibaltova specially for BTA.

The auction aroused worldwide media interest, as Klimt’s paintings have been sold at quite high prices in recent years. Specialists expected that the price of “Portrait of Miss Leeser” will exceed the sum of 70 million euros.

Auctioneer Michael Kovacek opened the bidding at €28 million, but only received three bids. The winning bid came from former Sotheby’s employee Patty Wong, who runs a consulting firm for Asian collectors with her partner Darryl Wickstrom.

The auction attracted worldwide media attention, as Klimt’s paintings have been sold at quite high prices in recent years (Photo: Christian Bruna/AP/BTA)

Managing director of the Im Kinski auction house, Ernst Ploy, said that acting on behalf of Hong Kong entrepreneur Rosalyn Wong and her company Home Art, it had made some of the most impressive purchases of Klimt works in recent years.

The previous owners of the work inherited it from distant relatives about two years ago, and before that “Portrait of Miss Leeser” was passed down through several generations, according to the auction house “Im Kinski”.

The auction attracted worldwide media attention, as Klimt’s paintings have sold for quite high prices in recent years (Photo: Christian Bruna/AP/BTA)

The work is believed to have been shown to an audience at an exhibition in Vienna in 1925. Between 1925 and the 1960s, its fate was unknown – as was its whereabouts during National Socialism, when the Lieser family was persecuted for his Jewish origin. According to the auction house, after intensive research, there is no evidence that the painting was confiscated at the time. “On the other hand, no evidence was found that it was not seized between 1938 and 1945,” they added.

Due to uncertainties surrounding the origin of the painting, the proceeds must be divided among several possible legal heirs based on an agreement in accordance with the so-called “Washington Principles”.

According to “Im Kinski”, this is also the reason why the work, which caused a worldwide sensation, was not sold at an auction in London or New York. The significantly smaller Viennese auction house not only has years of experience with Klimt works, but also in dealing with stolen art cases.

“Of course, we are very happy with the result, but we are not particularly surprised as it is in line with international standards,” Claudia Mörth-Gasser, the auction house’s expert in charge of Gustav Klimt works, said in a media release. after the auction.