A painting by Gustav Klimt has fetched 30 million euros at an auction in Vienna. This concerns the unfinished work ‘Bildnis Fräulein Lieser’.
The value of the painting was estimated at 30 to 50 million euros. It was originally commissioned by a wealthy family, and Klimt painted it shortly before his death in 1918. It was later thought lost for decades.
The painting shows a woman with dark hair. There is uncertainty about the identity of that model. It may be a daughter or niece of Henriette Lieser, who was murdered in the Auschwitz concentration camp in 1943.
It is not the highest amount ever paid for a work by Klimt. For example, his painting ‘Dame mit Fächer’ sold for £74 million in London last year. That was more than 86 million euros at the time.