In 1925, all traces of Gustav Klimt’s last portrait of a woman were lost, leaving the art world with nothing but a blurry black-and-white photograph in the archives for nearly a century. But on April 24, 2024, something almost unbelievable happened at the Palais Kinsky on Freyung in Vienna: The unfinished late work was auctioned off before the eyes of international collectors in just under two minutes of bidding for a total of 38.5 million euros. But how was that possible?
When Gustav Klimt died in February 1918 as a result of a stroke, the 140-by-80-centimeter oil painting was still unfinished on his easel. The wealthy Jewish industrialist family, the Liesers, had commissioned the work for one of their daughters before it disappeared without a trace from public view following a Viennese art exhibition in 1925. During the Nazi era, the painting faced the same fate as many other Jewish possessions, but it survived the decades unscathed in a private Viennese salon.
The Return to Freyung
Instead of a faded archival image, the bold hues of the floral *Pelerine* glow in intense red and turquoise, while the unfinished lower edge of the painting reveals a direct view of Klimt’s original brushstrokes. Consequently, the excitement in the baroque auction hall was palpable when the hammer finally fell at a bid of 30 million euros.
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With a final price of 38.5 million euros, including all fees, the portrait of Fräulein Lieser became the most expensive work of art ever auctioned in Austria. Prior to the auction, the previous owners and the legal successors of the Lieser family reached a joint agreement in accordance with the international Washington Principles. The masterpiece is now in the hands of a private collection in Hong Kong, but remains enshrined in the history books as a remarkable milestone of Viennese Modernism.
