Klimt's Hidden Gem Emerges: Portrait Of Fraulein Lieser To Shine At Spring Auction, Anticipated To Fetch $54 Million

After nearly a century of obscurity, a masterpiece by Gustav Klimt is set to captivate the art world as it heads to auction this spring.

The "Portrait of Fraulein Lieser," believed to be one of the maestro's last creations, is anticipated to command a price of up to $54 million, according to a report from CNN. The forthcoming sale has ignited fervent anticipation among art enthusiasts, heralding a momentous occasion in fine art.

The rediscovery of the portrait has caused a sensation in the art world. As a leading figure of Viennese Art Nouveau, Klimt's portraits of affluent women at the turn of the century enjoy global acclaim.

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The portrait will embark on a global journey before it's sold at the renowned auction house im Kinsky in Vienna on April 24. In collaboration with LGT Bank, the painting will be showcased at prestigious venues around the world, including stops in Switzerland, Germany, Great Britain and Hong Kong.

Upon returning to Vienna, the painting, owned by Austrian private citizens and the legal successors of Adolf and Henriette Lieser, will take center stage at the auction, offering art enthusiasts and collectors a rare opportunity to acquire a piece of artistic history. The painting will be sold based on an agreement following the Washington Principles of 1998, which demands participating nations return art confiscated by Nazis to their rightful owners.

Claudia Morth-Gasser, specialist in modern art at im Kinsky, told CNN in an email that there's no indication that the painting was ever exported out of Austria.

But that also doesn't mean it wasn't. "We have no proof that the painting has not ever been looted in the time gap between 1938 and 1945," she wrote to CNN.

Klimt's final completed portrait achieved a historic milestone, commanding $108.4 million at a London auction last year — the highest price ever paid for an artwork at a European auction.

The portrait, titled "Dam mit Facher" (Lady with a Fan), features an unidentified woman and set a new record for Klimt while surpassing the previous record held by "Birch Forest," which sold for $104.6 million from the collection of the late Microsoft Corp. Co-Founder Paul Allen in 2022.

For most people, purchasing a high-priced painting at auction is out of reach, but the exclusivity of artwork is subsiding with the advent of online platforms such as Masterworks that enable them to purchase shares of artwork.

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