Portrait of Adele Bloch Bauer by Gustav Klimt

Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer: When your portrait is worth more than your tax refund, you know you're doing something right!

The "Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I," also known as "The Lady in Gold," is a famous painting by Gustav Klimt, made between 1903 and 1907 with gold leaf on canvas. Adele's husband, Ferdinand Bloch-Bauer, a Viennese banker, commissioned the portrait. The Nazis stole the painting in 1941 and later displayed it at the Österreichische Galerie Belvedere.

Adele died in 1925 and wished that Klimt's artworks be left to the gallery, but these works actually belonged to Ferdinand. After fleeing Vienna due to Nazi persecution, Ferdinand left his art collection behind. The Nazis took the painting and other assets, falsely accusing him of tax evasion. The lawyer representing the German state gave the painting to the gallery, claiming it was per Adele's will.

In 1998, journalist Hubertus Czernin revealed that the gallery had received several stolen works and refused to return them. Ferdinand's niece, Maria Altmann, hired lawyer E. Randol Schoenberg to claim the painting back. After a long legal battle, including a Supreme Court hearing, the painting was returned to Altmann in 2006. She sold it that year for $135 million to Ronald Lauder, who put it on display at the Neue Galerie in New York.

Source: Wikipedia