Klimt's paintings are now in some parts of the world because of Holocaust survivors. Gustav Klimt was a Viennese painter and towards the end of his life, his clients were mostly wives of rich Jewish Industrialists, of which, August Lederer was chief among them. This is a painting of Serena Lederer. Till today the heir of the Lederer estate is still fighting the Austrian government for theft of Nazi loot! The famous frieze, the Beethoven frieze by Klimt sits in the Seccession building in Vienna. It looks like the Lederer estate has lost that fight. Today both New York and Vienna are the two major places to see Klimt paintings. I had the privilege of doing both in 2015.
No comments:
Post a Comment