The tale of the painting “Woman in Gold” revolves around a famous portrait by Gustav Klimt, which is titled “Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I.” The painting was created in 1907 and depicts Adele Bloch-Bauer, the wife of a wealthy Jewish businessman in Vienna. The painting became an iconic symbol of art and wealth, but it was also part of a long and complicated history of Nazi looting.
During World War II, the painting, along with many other artworks, was seized by the Nazis. After the war, it remained in Austria, owned by the Austrian government, despite the efforts of Bloch-Bauer’s niece, Maria Altmann, to reclaim it.
In the early 2000s, after a prolonged legal battle, the painting was successfully returned to Maria Altmann in 2006. She then sold it at auction, where it was purchased by the billionaire Ronald Lauder, who later displayed it in the Neue Galerie in New York City. The story of the painting and its return to the rightful heir was the subject of a 2015 film titled “Woman in Gold,” starring Helen Mirren as Maria Altmann.
As of now, the “Woman in Gold” is housed in the Neue Galerie in New York City, where it remains a prominent piece of art.
