Bridging a Family’s Restitution and Klimpt’s Record Sale
For over a decade, I’ve had the honor of working alongside the Goldschmidt family to reclaim their grandparents’ art collection, largely lost during the horrors of WWII persecution.
The recent sale of Gustav Klimt’s “Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer” for $236.4 million at Sotheby’s resonates beyond record-breaking numbers. This masterpiece, painted amidst the upheaval of early 20th-century Europe survived confiscation and was restituted in 1948 before entering Lauder’s collection. It is a powerful combination of artistic brilliance and enduring resilience.
Our years of collaboration alongside innovators like Christopher Marinello of the Art Recovery Group, The Monuments Men Foundation, and incredibly talented scholars like Malgorzata Stolarska-Fronia and Ramona Brau, have been motivated by the same values that echo through Klimt’s story: uncovering truths, restoring justice, and ensuring that cultural heritage is rightfully preserved for future generations.
To me, these auctions and every successful restitution is more than a transaction—it’s an act of remembrance and repair. This sale reminds me how our collective pursuit shapes art history, slowly heals wounds, and honors those whose voices were once silenced.
Pictured –
Lovis Corinth, “Tyrolean Woman with Cat,” 1913
lost during WWII persecution, owners – Fritz and Thea Goldschmidt – location unknown – last sold via ImKinsky Auction, Vienna in 2008 – family currently seeking restitution
if you know the location or have seen this painting contact – https://lnkd.in/eNv7fwfP
Gustav Klimt, “Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer,” Sotheby’s
