Adele Bloch-Bauer I

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Adele Bauer (1881-1925) was born into a prominent Viennese Jewish banking family. In 1899, she married the wealthy sugar magnate, Ferdinand Bloch (1864-1945); he was seventeen year s her senior. She was twenty-six years old when this portrait was completed. Adele was a member of cultured Viennese society and an enthusiast of contemporary art; she was intelligent, although like most women of her day, she was denied a university education. She maintained a salon that was frequented by Vienna's artistic, intellectual, and political elite. The Bloch-Bauers took strong interest in the work of Klimt. Klimt started making sketches of Adele in 1903, and more than one hundred preparatory drawings survive. Rumors of a romance between the artist and the socialite abound, but no concrete evidence of a liaison has been documented. Title Adele Bloch-Bauer I Creator Gustav Klimt Date Created 1903/1907 Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings Inscribed l. r. GUSTAV/KLIMT/1907 Provenance Ferdinand Bloch-Bauer, 1907 until autumn 1938, acquired from the artist, until seized by the Nazis; with Dr. Erich F¨¹hrer, Vienna, by 1939; ?sterreichische Galerie Belvedere, Vienna, 1941, inv. no. 3830; Heirs of Ferdinand Bloch-Bauer, 2006, restituted by the Republic of Austria; Neue Galerie New York, 2006, acquired from the above Physical Dimensions w140 x h140 cm Type Painting Rights Neue Galerie New York / Art Resource, NY www.artres.com Medium Oil, gold, and silver on canvas Show more