Hungary Claims: Prosecutor's Office Seizes Klimt Painting

Hungary asserts a claim on the painting of a Ghanaian prince by Gustav Klimt, which resurfaced after decades. Following a request from Austria's neighboring state, the Vienna Public Prosecutor's Office has ordered the seizure of the painting, reported "ZiB2" on Wednesday evening. The work was brought from Hungary to Austria. An export permit exists, but it is said not to indicate that it is a Klimt painting.

Klimt Estate Stamp Almost Unrecognizable Due to Dirt

The Vienna gallery Wienerroither & Kohlbacher was offered the 1897 portrait, which shows the dark-skinned Prince William Nii Nortey Dowuona, a few years ago. They received it in poor, dirty condition from a collector couple. The estate stamp was barely recognizable.

After its creation, the portrait likely remained in Klimt's possession and was auctioned from the estate in Vienna in 1923. In 1928, it was documented as a loan for the Klimt Memorial Exhibition at the Vienna Secession as the property of Ernestine Klein. After she and her husband had to flee from Vienna to Monaco due to their Jewish heritage, the painting was reportedly moved from their Hietzing villa to Hungary at the end of the 1930s to prevent it from falling into Nazi hands, according to "ZiB2". In Hungary, it was resold and eventually offered by a seller to the Vienna gallery Wienerroither & Kohlbacher.

Klimt or Not Klimt?

The Hungarian authorities suspect that the seller concealed the fact that it was a Klimt during the export. An expert opinion from a Hungarian laboratory from 2022 was reportedly available. The export permit was rightly obtained by the owner, emphasizes gallery owner Lui Wienerroither in the "ZiB2" report. At that time, the painting was not a confirmed work by Klimt. According to gallery owner Ebi Kohlbacher, it was clear that there was no one in Hungary who could verify a Klimt. They advised the seller to bring the painting to Austria with an export permit to present it to an expert.

Sale Still Pending

The current owner and the heirs of the former owner Klein have since reached an agreement. The painting has not yet been sold, although it was offered for a double-digit million amount at the TEFAF art fair in Maastricht, Netherlands, this year.

(APA/Red)

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