A painting by Austrian artist Gustav Klimt, which had been considered lost for 100 years, has been sold in Vienna. An unknown buyer paid 30 million euros for the painting. This was reported by the Guardian , according to UNN.
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It is reported that Klimt's "Portrait of Fräulein Lieser" went under the hammer for 30 million euros. The painting was bought by an unknown buyer.
A part of the money from the sale of this painting will go to the descendants of the Leeser family, relatives of the girl depicted in the painting.
The last time this work by Klimt was offered for sale was in 1925. Since then, it has had several owners.
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It was announced in January of this year that the painting had been found and would be put up for auction. It should be noted that Portrait of Fräulein Lieser was considered lost until recently. Nothing was known about it for almost a hundred years. Earlier, the Im Kinsky auction house estimated the value of the portrait at more than $54 million and called the discovery a sensation.
In 1925, the painting was exhibited to the public, and at that time it belonged to a Jewish family in Austria. It is not known where the painting disappeared to afterwards, but since the 1960s, the family of the current owners has owned the Portrait of Fräulein Lieser, who put it up for auction.
Before the current auction, it was shown in the UK, Switzerland, Germany, and Hong Kong.
It is known that Klimt painted this portrait in the spring of 1917, a year before his death. It is believed to depict a member of the Lieser family of wealthy Jewish industrialists. The Lieser family belonged to the circle of the wealthy upper class of Viennese society, among whom Klimt found his patrons and clients.