The last portrait painted by artist Gustav Klimt before his death has sold at auction in London for £85.3 million ($108.7 million).
Sotheby’s said the sale of Lady With A Fan (Dame Mit Facher) in New Bond Street is a new record for Klimt and has become the most valuable work of art sold at auction in Europe.
Helena Newman, auctioneer and president of Sotheby’s Europe said: “Dame Mit Facher (Lady With A Fan) is an absolute testament to Klimt’s artistic genius – a work that captured the imagination of all who saw it.
“It was an honor to see that high level of enthusiasm play out here in London tonight, and to see the painting pursued so fiercely.
“And, of course, it was the greatest honor to knock down the hammer on a work that, appropriately, has made auction history.”
The auction house said that after ten minutes of bidding between four art lovers, the work went to a Hong Kong collector.
In 2010, the London auction house sold the bronze sculpture L’homme Qui Marche I (Walking Man I) by Swiss artist Alberto Giacometti for £65 million.
