Vienna is declaring 2012 to be the year of Gustav Klimt. This summer marks the 150th anniversary of the birthday of the Austrian painter whose work later met a tragic fate under Nazi occupation.
Dozens of Gustav Klimt masterpieces were stolen from their owners under Hitler’s rule, and it wasn’t until nearly a half-century later that restitution demands began in order to return the works to their rightful heirs.
One such stolen work, “The Lady in Gold,” a 1907 gold-flecked portrait of Viennese society beauty Adele Bloch-Bauer, was eventually recovered and sold in 2006 to Ronald Lauder for an astounding $135 million.
"The Lady in Gold" is also the subject and title of Anne-Marie O’Connor’s newest book, which details the cultural history of Klimt’s Jewish models and patrons, and the masterpiece that spent decades hidden in Austria, and another decade to reclaim.
Defining Normal After a Diagnosis of Schizophrenia, The Mayor of Oklahoma City, A New Kind of Commencement Speech
Devastating Tornado in Oklahoma City, What James Rosen Case Says About Freedom of the Press, Syrian Conflict Deepens
Defining Normal After a Diagnosis of Schizophrenia
Why We Stay When We Know We Should Leave
The IRS Scandal: The Criminal Investigation, Afghanistan and the Struggle to Walk Away, Does Medicare Part D Care About Safety?
The show is a co-production of WNYC Radio and Public Radio International, in collaboration with New York Times Radio and WGBH Boston.
Major funding provided by:
Comments [1]
One could say that art is the ultimate expression of a civilization and each work is a facet of that society's soul. From a farmer or metalsmith up to the leaders of men and all the creativity, invention, progress, and suffering inbetween is solely for this impractical practice. We take functionality and make it nonfunction just so we can say, "This is who we are or who we were."
The history of Adele Bloch-Bauer's $135m portrait illustrates that humankind doesn't actually see its soul expressed on some canvas. We see into art like a dog sees into a mirror. Nothing at all.
Leave a Comment
Register for your own account so you can vote on comments, save your favorites, and more. Learn more.
Please stay on topic, be civil, and be brief.
Email addresses are never displayed, but they are required to confirm your comments. Names are displayed with all comments. We reserve the right to edit any comments posted on this site. Please read the Comment Guidelines before posting. By leaving a comment, you agree to New York Public Radio's Privacy Policy and Terms Of Use.