Painting Once Looted by Nazis Sells for 40 Million Dollars

In 1915, Gustav Klimt created a painting of an Austrian landscape titled "Litzlberg on the Attersee." According to the Washington Post, the landscape was originally owned by the Austrian iron magnate Viktor Zuckerkandl, which was then passed on to his sister Amalie Redlich. In 1941, Redlich was deported from Austria and never heard from again and her art collection was seized by Nazis and solf off. Now, 70 years later, the original painting has been recovered, returned to the grandson of the original owner and sold in a New York City art auction for more than 40 million dollars.

In a New York Times report, the painting was reportedly seized during an Austrian invasion that was a part of Adolph Hitler's "Final Solution." Many art experts at the art auction in New York City agree that this painting was not one of Klimt's best works, however, they said they believe it sold at such a high price because of the history and the tragedy that the picture carries.

The report in the New York Times also announced that a portion of the proceeds from the auction would be donated to the Salzburg museum for the construction of a museum  extension to be named in Amalie Redlich's memory.

Outside of the huge sale of the Klimt painting, BBC News reported that the Sotheby's impressionist and modern art sale set several records, "fetching nearly 200 million dollars in total."

According to the International Business Times, Sotheby's experts maintain that the real reason for their successful art auction was their ability to correctly analyze the market and set accurate estimates for the cost of the works of art. Simon Shaw, Head of Sotheby's Impressionist and Modern Art Department in New York was extremely pleased with the outcome of the auction.

"The art market was alive and well at Sotheby's tonight," Shaw said.

A huge part of the success was due to the works of art themselves, but a painting with a good story behind it certainly did not hurt the art auction.

Thumbnail Image courtesy of bm.iphone.