How does an innocent portrait become one of the most expensive paintings ever sold?
Adele Bloch-Bauer sat with Klimt for 2 portraits, the first of which; “Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I” was finished in 1907 and eventually became the most famous of all of his works.
Before Adele died at the young age of 43 she requested that her 2 Klimt portraits as well as her 3 landscapes be given to the Austrian state collection. When the Nazi’s took over Austria her husband (Ferdinand Bloch-Bauer) was forced to flee to Switzerland and his possessions were all confiscated. For many years the paintings were considered Austrian national treasures.
It wasn’t until 2006 that a legal battle for restitution of the paintings was finally won by Ferdinand’s niece and heir Maria Altmann. Later that year “Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I” was sold for a record breaking $135 million, making it the most expensive painting ever sold. Five months later the sale was showed up when Jackson Pollock’s No.5 was sold for $140 million.
“Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I”
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