Gustav Klimt (1862-1918) was an Austrian symbolist painter and a prominent member of the Vienna Secession movement. Known for his paintings, murals, sketches, and other objets d'art, Klimt's primary subject was the female body. His works, marked by a frank eroticism, are among the most recognizable pieces of art worldwide.
Klimt's famous paintings include The Kiss (Lovers), Adele Bloch-Bauer I (Lady in Gold or The Woman in Gold), and the Portrait of Fritza Riedler. As the co-founder and first president of the Vienna Secession, Klimt promoted young artists, brought new artists to Vienna, and introduced the work of foreign artists to the Viennese public.
Klimt's paintings have brought some of the highest prices recorded for individual works of art. In 2006, the 1907 Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I was purchased for $135 million, at the time the highest price ever paid for a painting. Klimt's works are on display in Vienna's largest museums, including the Österreichische Galerie Belvedere, the Albertina, the Kunsthistorisches Museum, the Leopold Museum, and the Museum für angewandte Kunst (MAK).
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