Painting by Gustav Klimt sold for $32 million after being lost for about 100 years
This story has been corrected to explain the location of the painting and the contents of the portrait itself.
A painting by famed artist Gustav Klimt that was believed to be lost for around 100 years has been sold for $32 million at an auction in Vienna.
The "Portrait of Fräulein Lieser" by the prestigious Austrian painter was estimated to sell between €30 million and €50 million ($32 million to $53.4 million) at the auction house im Kinsky.
Art advisory firm Patti Wong & Associates bought the painting Wednesday through an anonymous Hong Kong collector, according to the auction house.
"The rediscovery of this portrait, one of the most beautiful of Klimt's last creative period, is a sensation," the auction house said in a news release ahead of bidding. "A painting of such rarity, artistic significance, and value has not been available on the art market in Central Europe for decades."
Bidding opened at €28 million for the portrait
Bidding opened at €28 million before peaking at €30 million, excluding additional auction house fees, on the lower end of its expected value.
The portrait displays a young woman in a frontal pose against a red background wearing a cape decorated with flowers around her shoulders. The sitter posed for Klimt in nine visits to his Heitzing studio.
Klimt, most known for "The Kiss," died on February 6, 1918. Small parts of the painting were left unfinished to his passing.
The portrait has been located in private Austrian property since the 1960’s. The owners inherited the piece from a distant relative around two years ago, im Kinsky told USA TODAY.
Portrait displays wealthy Austrian Jewish woman
The sitter in the portrait is believed to be a wealthy Austrian Jewish woman and part of an upper class of Viennese society but her identity is not completely definite.
The first catalogue of Klimt's paintings published in 1967 identified the woman as Fräulein Lieser. However, later catalogs of work from 2007 and 2012 have labeled her as Margarethe Constance Lieser, the daughter of industrial magnate Adolf Lieser, according to the auction house.
More recent search by the action house suggests she could also be one of the sisters Helene or Annie Lieser.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Painting missing for 100 years sold for $32 million at Vienna auction
