The “Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I” is a renowned artwork by Gustav Klimt. The subject of the painting is Adele Bloch-Bauer, the wife of Ferdinand Bloch-Bauer. Klimt was commissioned by the Jewish industrialist to paint the portrait in 1903. The masterpiece was unveiled four years later. A second painting of Adele, the “Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer II,” was created by Klimt in 1912.

This well-known portrait is considered a masterpiece from Klimt’s “golden style” of artwork, according to Neue Galerie, the New York City museum that houses the portrait permanently. 

In the year Klimt was commissioned for the artwork, he visited the Byzantine mosaics in Ravenna, Italy, where he drew inspiration from the sixth century mosaics. The “Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I” was made in a style that Klimt greatly admired. 

After numerous sketches and four years of work, the “Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I” was completed in 1907. The portrait depicts Adele in golden tones, in an ambiguous pose, leaving the viewer uncertain whether the Jewish socialite is sitting or standing. 

She is adorned with expensive jewelry, including bracelets on her wrists and a diamond choker around her neck, a wedding gift from her husband, according to Neue Galerie. 

In January 1925, Adele passed away suddenly after contracting meningitis at the age of 43. Following her death, the portrait was displayed in the Bloch-Bauer home in Vienna until the Anschluss in 1938. Ferdinand fled his home, leaving behind his valuable art collection, including the “Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I.” The collection was seized by the Nazis, according to Christie’s. 

In November 1945, Ferdinand died and was unable to reclaim his art collection. The “Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I” was displayed in Vienna for many years, renamed “Woman in Gold,” according to Neue Galerie. 

Ferdinand’s family heirs, specifically Maria Altmann, who escaped Vienna and emigrated to the United States, fought for the return of the art collection. In 1998, the Federal Art Restitution Act was passed in Austria, which mandated the return of stolen works of art and cultural objects to their rightful owners or heirs. 

Altmann and her lawyer, Eric Randol Schoenberg, began a legal battle to reclaim her family’s art collection, a case that attracted significant public attention. 

In January 2006, the United States Supreme Court ruled in favor of Altmann, and she regained possession of the paintings. 

The 2015 movie “Woman in Gold” depicts this legal battle with Helen Mirren portraying Altmann and Ryan Reynolds playing her lawyer. 

In June 2006, the portrait was acquired for $135 million by Ronald Lauder, according to Christie’s. 

The “Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I” is permanently on display at Neue Galerie in New York City.