Results for: Portrait of Fräulein Lieser

A portrait by renowned Austrian modernist artist Gustav Klimt, known for its vibrant colors and unfinished sections, has been sold at auction in Vienna for 30 million euros ($32 million). The ‘Portrait of Fräulein Lieser’, believed to be one of Klimt’s last works, depicts a young woman and was started in 1917, a year before the artist’s death. Due to uncertainties surrounding its provenance during the Nazi era, the current owners and heirs of the Lieser family agreed to proceed with the sale under the Washington Principles, which provide guidance on Nazi-confiscated art restitution.

Gustav Klimt’s ‘Portrait of Fräulein Lieser’ sold at auction in Vienna for 30 million euros ($32 million), making it one of the artist’s last major works. The painting had been presumed lost for decades and was auctioned on behalf of its current owners, Austrian private citizens, and the heirs of Adolf and Henriette Lieser. It is unclear which member of the Lieser family commissioned the work, but it was believed to have been painted in 1917, a year before Klimt’s death. The fate of the painting between 1925 and the 1960s, a period that included the Nazi era, remains uncertain. Currently, there is no evidence of Nazi confiscation, but the Washington Principles were employed to address potential restitution issues related to Nazi-confiscated art.