Painter, 1862 to 1918
Gustav Klimt
The most famous Klimt outside Vienna is in a mansion at the corner of 86th Street. It came to New York in 2006, after a court case that returned it to the family it had been taken from.
- Born
- 1862, Baumgarten, near Vienna, Austria
- Died
- 1918, Vienna, Austria
- Movement
- Vienna Secession
- In New York
- 3 works in 3 museums
Where to see Gustav Klimt in New York
Each work with the museum it hangs in. Museums move and lend their works, so check before a special journey.
Neue Galerie1 work
Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I
1907
Adele's face, shoulders and clasped hands rise out of a dress and a background of gold and silver leaf, covered in eyes, spirals and squares. Klimt worked on it for several years.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art1 work
Mäda Primavesi
1912 to 1913
The nine-year-old daughter of a banker stands with her feet apart and her hands behind her back, in a white dress her mother had made for the sitting, and stares the painter down.
The Museum of Modern Art1 work
Hope, II
1907 to 1908
A pregnant woman bows her head over her belly, wrapped in a robe of gold and coloured discs, with three women praying at her feet.
The life of Gustav Klimt
Gustav Klimt was born near Vienna in 1862 and led the group of artists who broke with the city's academy in 1897. In his golden years, between about 1903 and 1909, he set faces and hands of great delicacy into fields of gold leaf and pattern. He died in Vienna in 1918.
Adele Bloch-Bauer, the wife of a sugar manufacturer, sat for him twice. The Nazis took the portraits from her widower in 1938, and they hung in the Austrian national gallery for sixty years. Her niece, Maria Altmann, sued for them from California and won in 2006. The first portrait was bought for the Neue Galerie, the museum of Austrian and German art that had opened on Fifth Avenue five years before.
What to know
- Adele Bloch-Bauer I was seized by the Nazis in Vienna and returned to her heirs in 2006
- Ronald Lauder bought it for the Neue Galerie the same year
- The Neue Galerie is to become part of the Metropolitan Museum in 2028
- Born
- 14 July 1862, Baumgarten, near Vienna, Austria
- Died
- 6 February 1918, Vienna, Austria
Gustav Klimt: common questions
- Where can you see Gustav Klimt in New York?
- At the Neue Galerie: Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I. At the Metropolitan Museum of Art: Mäda Primavesi. At the Museum of Modern Art: Hope, II. Museums move and lend their works, so check before a special journey.
- What is Gustav Klimt's most famous work in New York?
- Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I, of 1907, at the Neue Galerie. Adele's face, shoulders and clasped hands rise out of a dress and a background of gold and silver leaf, covered in eyes, spirals and squares. Klimt worked on it for several years.
- When and where was Gustav Klimt born?
- On 14 July 1862, at Baumgarten, near Vienna, Austria. Gustav Klimt died on 6 February 1918, at Vienna, Austria, aged about 56.
- What is Gustav Klimt known for?
- Adele Bloch-Bauer I was seized by the Nazis in Vienna and returned to her heirs in 2006. Ronald Lauder bought it for the Neue Galerie the same year. The Neue Galerie is to become part of the Metropolitan Museum in 2028. Gustav Klimt was an Austrian painter, of the Vienna Secession.
Tickets and tours: Gustav Klimt in New York
Things to do near the Met
The nearest of this site's best things to do in the city. Distances are in a straight line.
- 13Walk down the spiral of the Guggenheim550 m awayMuseum, 1.5 to 2 hours, ticket
- 4Walk through Central Park900 m awayGarden, 2 to 4 hours, free
- 11Meet the dinosaurs at the Museum of Natural History950 m awayMuseum, 2.5 to 4 hours, ticket
- 18See the Frick's Vermeers in the house they were bought for1.0 km awayMuseum, 1.5 to 2 hours, ticket
Where to eat near the Met
The nearest of the famous tables this site lists in New York. Distances are in a straight line.
- Café Sabarsky4.3Viennese café, Inside the Neue Galerie300 m away
- Barney Greengrass4.4Appetizing shop and restaurant, Upper West Side1.4 km away
- Tavern on the Green4.4Restaurant in the park, Inside Central Park1.4 km away
- P.J. Clarke's4.5Saloon, Midtown East2.3 km away
Hotels near the Met
The five-star hotels closest to it, of those this site lists in New York. Distances are in a straight line.
- The Mark4.5Five-star hotel, Madison Avenue at 77th Street450 m away
- The Surrey4.4Five-star hotel, Madison Avenue at 76th Street550 m away
- The Pierre4.5Five-star hotel, Fifth Avenue at 61st Street1.7 km away
- The Sherry-Netherland4.6Five-star hotel, Fifth Avenue at 59th Street1.8 km away
Other artists
Painter, 1856 to 1925
John Singer Sargent
Madame X, the portrait that caused a scandal in Paris and drove Sargent to London, hangs in the American Wing of the Met. He sold it to the museum himself.
Realism. 3 works in 1 museum
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Painter, 1866 to 1944
Wassily Kandinsky
The Guggenheim was founded on Kandinsky. It owns more than a hundred and fifty of his works, Composition 8 and Several Circles among them, and always has some on show.
Abstract art. 4 works in 2 museums
See the artist
Painter, 1869 to 1954
Henri Matisse
The Museum of Modern Art has Matisse's Dance (I), The Red Studio and The Piano Lesson, a run of large paintings from his boldest years that no other museum can match.
Fauvism. 4 works in 2 museums
See the artist