A stirring masterpiece by the celebrated Austrian artist Gustav Klimt achieved a landmark price of 85.3 million pounds ($108.4 million) at a Sotheby’s auction on Tuesday. This staggering figure set a new record for the highest price fetched by any work of art sold at an auction in Europe, according to London-based auction house Sotheby’s.
The painting, which was expected to sell for a guide price of around 65 million pounds ($82.9 million), ended up exceeding expectations. The final sale came after an intense 10-minute bidding war, during which Helena Newman, Sotheby’s head of impressionist and modern art and the auctioneer for the event, skillfully navigated the last bids in increments of half a million pounds.
Named “Dame mit Fächer” (“Lady with a Fan”), this captivating portrait was praised by Newman as a “technical tour de force, full of boundary-pushing experimentation, as well as a heartfelt ode to absolute beauty.” Klimt was working on this masterpiece when he passed away in February 1918, leaving the painting on an easel in his studio.
“It was created when he was still in his artistic prime and brings together all the technical prowess and creative exuberance that define his greatest work,” Newman commented on the artwork’s significance.
The moment the hammer fell at 74 million pounds, it dispelled the palpable tension in the room, with the attendees responding in an audible sigh of relief and applause. The total sale price accounted for all fees.
The winning bid was placed by a Hong Kong-based art advisory firm on behalf of a local collector.
Before the Klimt painting broke the record, the highest price for a painting sold at auction in Europe was held by Claude Monet’s “Le Bassin Aux Nympheas,” fetching $80.4 million in 2008. Meanwhile, Alberto Giacometti’s bronze “Walking Man I” held the record for any work of art sold at auction in Europe, garnering $104.3 million in 2010.
Sotheby’s added that this Klimt painting is among the few remaining portraits by the artist in private collections. It now holds the title of the most expensive Klimt artwork ever sold at auction worldwide.
The artwork’s last sale took place almost three decades ago, when it was bought by the family of the current owner for $11.6 million, as per Sotheby’s records.
($1 = 0.7847 pounds)
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