Portrait of Gertha Felsöványi
A young woman almost dissolved in a white dress, a portrait passed on then lost to persecution, an agreement with the heirs and two major sales: the story of Gertrud Loew far exceeds the elegance of 1902.
This file distinguishes the model, the sponsor, the successive owners and the current status of the work after the Sotheby's sale of June 24, 2026.
Who is the almost white woman painted by Klimt?
The model is Gertrud Franziska Sophie Loew, born in Vienna on November 16, 1883. Her father, physician Anton Loew, ran one of the city's largest private sanatoriums and supported the Viennese Secession. He probably commissioned the portrait from Klimt in 1902, when Gertrud was nineteen.
The painting precedes his marriage to Johann Arthur Eisler von Terramare in February 1903. After their separation and then their divorce, Gertrud married the Hungarian entrepreneur Elemér Baruch Felsövânyi de Felsö-Vânyi in 1912. It is this second name which explains the current title Portrait of Gertha Felsöványi.
The work remained in the family setting until the Nazi era. Forced to leave Austria in 1939, Gertrud abandoned her collection. The painting passed around 1941 to the filmmaker Gustav Ucicky. A search for provenance led in 2014 to a private agreement between the Klimt Foundation and the Felsöványi heirs. Sold in 2015 to the Lewis Collection, the portrait was put back on the market in June 2026 and sold for 36.2 million pounds to an unidentified buyer publicly.
Four names for a single trajectory
Catalogs, sales and articles do not always use the same spelling. Understanding these variations avoids taking the painting for several different portraits.
Gertrud Loew
Birth name and form used by recent research and auction houses.
Gerta Loew
Family diminutive documented by the Gustav Klimt Database.
Gertha Felsovanyi
Name by which the model is often cited after her marriage in 1912.
Frau G. Baruch-Loew
Title used at a portrait exhibition in Vienna in 1912.
Gertrud grew up in a network that supported the Secession
Anton Loew is not only a wealthy doctor. He is a collector, patron and early supporter of the Viennese Secession. His establishment welcomes patients from aristocracy and cultural life, including Gustav Mahler, Alma Mahler, Ludwig Wittgenstein and Klimt himself.
The proximity between medicine, collection and art explains the order. Gertrud is not chosen at random by a painter looking for a model: his portrait is born from an already established social relationship between Klimt and the family.
An engagement order?
The exact destination is not certain. The painting may have been thought of as a birthday present for Anton Loew or as a present for Gertrud and her future husband. Caution is required, but the proximity of the 1903 wedding makes the nuptial hypothesis plausible.
The portrait in the family space
After its first exhibitions, the painting hung in the entrance hall of the Pelikangasse family apartment. It therefore functions as a modern work, an image of Gertrud and a public sign of Loew's taste.
How does Klimt make Gertrud float?
The painting appears almost monochrome. However, its white is constructed by purples, grays, blues and transparencies which gradually bring the body closer to the background.
The blade format
The canvas is more than three times taller than it is wide. This verticality compresses the space and transforms the model into an ascending appearance.
The dress without hard outline
The white garment does not form a block. Its folds open, come undone and let the body mix with the light field.
The face as an anchor
The features, dark eyes and hair concentrate the resemblance. The lower the gaze, the more the figure becomes atmosphere.
Four lilac ribbons
The vertical bands each follow a different inflection. They give rhythm to the dress without transforming it into a golden mosaic.
Japan in the framing
The extreme narrowness, shallow surface and signature inscribed in two green squares evoke the influence of prints and their seals.
Gold-free elegance
The portrait precedes the large effigies covered in gold. Klimt already obtains a decorative presence through format, textile and color alone.
Serena, Gertrud and Emilie: three verticalities
Comparing these works shows that the Loew portrait is not a parenthesis. Between 1899 and 1902, Klimt gradually transformed the female silhouette into architecture of lines and surfaces.
Serena Pulitzer Lederer
The white dress and the long silhouette announce Gertrud. Serena, however, remains more clearly separated from a dark background, while Gertrud appears absorbed by the light. Image: Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.5.
Emilie Flöge
Painted the same year, Emilie is wrapped in a much more independent garment. Patterns, squares and spirals more directly announce the decorative universe of the golden period.
Provenance, line by line
Words matter: the passage during the Nazi period has not been fully reconstructed. The 2014 agreement is a "fair and equitable" private solution, not a restitution delivered by a public museum.
Commissioned by Anton Loew
Gertrud's father orders the portrait directly from Klimt.
Legacy of Sophie Loew
After Anton's death, his wife Sophie became the owner of the painting.
Gertrud Felsovanyi
The portrait returns to the person depicted and remains in the family environment.
Persecution and forced departure
The sanatorium is closed and liquidated. Gertrud, persecuted as a Jew despite family conversion, left Austria in 1939 and abandoned her property.
Gustav Ucicky
The painting is in the filmmaker's collection. The exact circumstances of the purchase can no longer be established, but researchers place it during the Nazi period.
Ursula Ucicky
Filmmaker's widow inherits Klimt's portrait and other works.
Klimt Foundation and agreement
After the transfer to the foundation, two researchers establish a joint file. A legal committee recommends a solution consistent with the Washington Principles.
First Sotheby's sale
The portrait sold in London for £24.8 million and joined the Lewis Collection.
New sale
On June 24, the work sold for 36.2 million pounds. The name of the new buyer is not made public.
Property, dispossession and agreement: do not simplify
The quality of a provenance story depends on its ability to also point out gray areas.
| Question | What the sources establish | Which remains cautious |
|---|---|---|
| Did Gertrud own the painting in 1938? | Yes, Sotheby's research and provenance place it in his collection before the leak. | Details of each material transfer between 1938 and 1941 are not complete. |
| Did Ucicky acquire it during Nazism? | The record concludes that a purchase during this period should be presumed. | The exact date, intermediary, price and conditions could not be reconstructed. |
| Was the painting returned after 1945? | No. He remained with Gustav Ucicky until his death in 1961. | The family's old steps did not allow the work to return. |
| Was there restitution in 2014? | An extrajudicial agreement is concluded between the private foundation and the heirs. | It is better to speak of a fair and equitable private solution than of a public restitution decision. |
Why has the value increased so much?
Price doesn't just measure beauty. It combines the rarity of major portraits, quality of conservation, clarified provenance, exhibition history and international demand for Klimt.
£24.8 million
After agreement with heirs and export authorization, the sale places the painting back on the international market.
The Lewis Collection
The portrait benefits from major loans in New York and San Francisco, which consolidates its public visibility and its exhibition file.
£36.2 million
The new auction exceeds the 2015 price by more than ten million pounds and establishes a value of around 42 million euros.
Where to see the portrait today?
After the sale on June 24, 2026, the work belongs to a private collection whose identity is not published. It cannot therefore be announced as permanently exhibited in a museum.
No permanent clashes
2026 buyer not made public. A current museum location would therefore be incorrect information.
Major loans
The portrait was shown at MAK in Vienna, the Neue Galerie in New York and the Legion of Honor in San Francisco.
Temporary exhibitions
A new loan remains possible. Consult the official programs and the sales instructions before organizing a trip.
The face and the material in detail
The store currently offers portrait detail. The link and image were checked in the Shopify catalog before publication.
Portrait of Gertrud Loew
A tight framing on the face and lilac passages of the garment, distinct from the complete vertical composition.
See the product sheet →Extend around Klimt
These three destinations correspond to active collections of the store.
Four complementary articles
Gertrud's portrait takes on its full meaning when placed among other stories of models, exile, dispossession and restitution.
Research, provenance and sale
The main information is based on the Klimt database, the Klimt Foundation file, the Sotheby's notice and the public image collections.
Gustav Klimt Database
Gertrud, Anton Loew, the sanatorium, the order and family history.
View → AnalysisKlimt 1901 -1903
Format, Japanese influence, signature and clear portrait.
View → ProvenanceKlimt Foundation
Joint file, legal committee and 2014 agreement.
View → Sale 2026Sotheby's, lot 16
Dimensions, provenance, exhibitions and sale on June 24.
View → 2026 resultKlimt Database
Auction at 36.2 million pounds and current context.
View → Archive CC0Wien Museum
Historical postcard from the Loew Sanatorium.
View →Gertha Felsöványi in ten answers
Who was Gertha Felsöványi?
Born Gertrud Franziska Sophie Loew in 1883, she was the daughter of the Viennese doctor and patron Anton Loew. She took the name Felsöványi after her second marriage in 1912.
Why does the painting have several titles?
The titles sometimes use his birth name, Gertrud or Gerta Loew, sometimes his married name, Gertha Fels·ványi. They designate the same work from 1902.
How old was she in the portrait?
She was nineteen years old. The painting was painted in 1902, shortly before his first marriage.
What are the dimensions of the table?
The Sotheby's instructions indicate 149.5 × 44.2 cm. This extreme verticality is essential to the composition.
Does the dress come from Emilie Flöge's living room?
This attribution is often proposed, notably for its reformed and modern character, but it remains a hypothesis and must be formulated as such.
Was the portrait robbed?
Gertrud had to abandon her property while fleeing Nazi Austria. The exact circumstances of the transfer are not fully known, but research suggests a purchase by Gustav Ucicky during the Nazi period.
Was it returned in 2014?
A private foundation and heirs have entered into an extrajudicial agreement consistent with the Washington Principles. It is more precise to speak of a fair and equitable private solution.
How much was it sold in 2015?
The portrait reached £24.8 million at Sotheby's in London.
How much was it sold in 2026?
On June 24, 2026, 36.2 million pounds, or approximately 42 million euros, were sold.
Where is he now?
In a private collection. The identity of the new buyer has not been made public and no permanent exhibition has been announced.
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