Gustav Klimt, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Lady with a Fan
by Gustav Klimt, 1918
Details
- Year
- 1918
Auction History
$108.4M
Sotheby's / London
June 27, 2023
Lady with a Fan (Dame mit Facher) was the last painting Gustav Klimt worked on, left on his easel when he died in 1918. It shows an elegant woman against a glowing field of East Asian motifs: phoenixes, lotus blossoms, and a Chinese dragon, reflecting Klimt's late fascination with Asian art.
In June 2023 the painting sold at Sotheby's in London for about 108 million dollars, the most expensive artwork ever sold at auction in Europe. Its warm palette and flat, decorative surface make it one of the best-loved works of Symbolism and the Vienna Secession.
