The last painting by renowned Austrian symbolist Gustav Klimt broke records Tuesday when it sold at an auction in London for $108.4 million — making it the most valuable artwork ever sold at an auction in Europe. Photo courtesy of Sotheby’s
June 27 (UPI) — The last painting by renowned Austrian symbolist Gustav Klimt broke records Tuesday when it sold at an auction in London for $108.4 million — making it the most valuable artwork ever sold at an auction in Europe.
The painting, titled in English as Lady With A Fan, was still standing on an easel in Klimt’s studio when the artist died unexpectedly in February 1918.
Described as the painter’s “last masterpiece,” it depicts a young woman holding a fan before a backdrop of floral and mythological iconography. The work is inspired by Chinese motifs, including the symbols of the phoenix and lotus blossoms with patterns that show an appreciation for Japanese woodblock prints.
The painting was sold by Sotheby’s after a lengthy battle between four bidders, three of whom were in the room, during the auction house’s Modern & Contemporary Evening Sale. The artwork ultimately went to Patti Wong, bidding on behalf of a collector in Hong Kong.
The auction house had anticipated that Lady With A Fan would sell for about $80 million. It was last on the market in 1994 when it sold at Sotheby’s in New York for $11.6 million.
Beyond being the most valuable artwork ever sold in a European auction, the sale was also the second-highest price for a portrait from any era sold at an auction globally and passed the previous auction record for Klimt.
The previous highest price for a Klimt work at auction was $104.6 million for Birch Forest from the Paul G. Allen Collection sold last year in New York.
The most expensive painting ever sold at an auction globally remains Leonardo da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi, a portrait of Jesus, that sold at Christie’s auction house in New York in 2017 for $450 million.
In 2020, a gallery in Italy confirmed that a painting discovered behind its walls is an authentic Klimt work. It was found partially concealed by a black trash bag at the Ricci Oddi Modern Art gallery in Piacenza by gardeners cleaning ivy off an external wall.