Welcome back Miss Lieser

For around 100 years, the whereabouts of the portrait of Miss Lieser created by Gustav Klimt in 1917 were unknown - it was considered lost. This makes the rediscovery of this painting, which will be auctioned at the Kinsky auction house in Vienna on 24.04.2024, all the more sensational.

As of today, it is clear that Klimt's enchanting depiction of Miss Lieser is one of the most impressive paintings from the artist's late creative phase. The young lady is presented frontally against a simple yet rich red-orange background, wrapped in a blue cloak strewn with flowers that emphasize her youth and vitality. The painting from a private Austrian collection thus joins the ranks of those sophisticated Klimt portraits of ladies from Adele Bloch-Bauer to Eugenia (Mäda) Primavesi and Elisabeth Lederer.

Whether the woman depicted is actually Margarethe Constance Lieser or one of her cousins, Helene and Annie Lieser, is the subject of research. In any case, the first encounter between Klimt and a member of the Lieser family took place at a salon hosted by Berta Zuckerkandl, as Arthur Schnitzler noted in his diary in March 1913.

Before this refreshingly enchanting portrait was put up for auction, it was presented to the public at various locations around the world. There will also be an opportunity to view this painting in Vienna before the auction.