Discover the story of the painting of a Jewish family from Austria that disappeared for 100 years, reappeared in 2022 and could be sold for R$267 million

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Until recently, it was known that the last known owner of the painting died after deportation in 1943, during the Second World War. The work then disappeared. There was no further information about the painting for decades. Portrait of Miss Lieser In the 1910s, a wealthy Jewish family in Vienna, Austria, commissioned a painting from one of the country’s most famous painters, Gustav Klimt. It is a frontal image of a young woman, from head to knee height, wearing a colorful dress that stands out against a red background. It is a late work by the artist. “Portrait of Miss Lieser” was painted in 1917, a year before Klimt’s death. The painting was last seen during an exhibition in Vienna in 1925 – there is a black and white photograph that, for many decades, was the only proof of the painting’s existence. Until recently, it was known that the last known owner of the painting died after deportation in 1943, during the Second World War. The work then disappeared. There was no further information about the painting for decades. ✅ Click here to follow the g1 international news channel on WhatsApp Almost a hundred years after the painting was last displayed, it was rediscovered in a private collection in the country and will be auctioned on April 24. The auction house that will be responsible for the sale, Kinsky, states that the value should be between 30 million euros and 50 million euros (from R$160 million to R$267 million). The auction house says that the discovery of the portrait, one of the most beautiful from Klimt’s last period, is sensational, according to the Washington Post. “A rare and artistically significant painting like this has a value that has not appeared on the art market in central Europe for decades,” says Kinsky’s text. The painting was stolen from the Jewish family. The Lieser family was from the rich high society of Vienna. This was the clientele of Klimt, the painter. It is not known exactly who the young woman portrayed is. The person who commissioned the painting was Adolf Lieser, who was one of the greatest industrialists of the Austro-Hungarian period. The woman portrayed could be his daughter or a niece. But what is known about what happened to the painting? As the Liesers were Jews, there is a possibility that the painting was stolen by Nazis during World War II. Henriette Lieser, who owned the painting, remained in Vienna despite the Nazi dictatorship, was deported in 1942 and murdered the following year. Her heirs were contacted, and some traveled to see the painting, which had not been claimed and never appeared on restitution request lists. According to the “Washington Post”, Ernst Ploil, a director at the Kinsky auction house, stated that the canvas was rediscovered in 2022. One of the owners approached Kinsky to auction the piece. He stated that the painting had been acquired by a relative of his in the 1960s, and that it had been in the family ever since. The auction house says it got the history and provenance of the painting every way possible and “found no evidence that the painting was exported outside of Austria, confiscated or seized or looted by the Nazis.” “We have no evidence that it was confiscated by the Nazis,” Ploil said. However, the house also says there is no proof that the painting was not stolen. There was an agreement between the family that owned the painting and the current descendants of the Lieser family. The auction house says it is following protocol to identify and return works stolen by the Nazis (in 1998, 44 countries signed an agreement in which they committed to returning pieces that the Nazis stole). Before sale, the painting will be exhibited in Switzerland, Germany, the United Kingdom and Hong Kong. READ ALSO English museum will return painting stolen by Nazis to owner’s heirs 82 years later Spanish museum returns to Poland paintings stolen by Nazis during World War II Discover the story of the African mask sold for R$750 by a retired couple and which, later of 6 months, was auctioned for R$ 22 million

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