The record-breaking price of “Woman with a Fan”

After a 10-minute competition between 4 clients, Gustav Klimt’s final masterpiece (Woman with a Fan; 1917-18) recorded a new price for an artwork by Klimt at an auction and became the most valuable work of art ever sold in a European auction.

The portrait “Woman with a Fan” by the Austrian painter, Gustav Klimt, got beyond the expectations and price estimations before the auction, and hammered for 4.108 million dollars (3.85 million pounds) at Sotheby’s auction, becoming the second most expensive portrait ever sold in an auction. The artwork was sold to Patty Wong (founder of Patty Wong & Associates – a Hong Kong-based art consultancy), who was bidding on behalf of a Hong Kong art collector.

Six other price records were also registered during the auction of modern and contemporary works of art at Sotheby’s in London, and the total worth of this auction reached $252.9, which shows a 34% increase compared to the auction in June last year.