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Finding Aid for the Gustav Klimt Reproduction Souvenir collection 2021.002.h.r
2021.002.h.r
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Contributing Institution:
Oskar Schindler Archives
Title: Gustav Klimt Reproduction Souvenir collection
Identifier/Call Number: 2021.002.h.r
Physical Description:
2.13 Linear feet
Date (inclusive): 1990-2010
Abstract: Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer, also called The Lady in Gold or The Woman in Gold, is a painting by Gustav Klimt, completed
between 1903 and 1907. The portrait was commissioned by Adele's husband, Ferdinand Bloch-Bauer, a Jewish banker and sugar
producer. The painting was stolen by the Nazis in 1941 and displayed at the Österreichische Galerie Belvedere.
The material provided in this collection is souvenirs of the Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer painting by Gustav Klimt, including
collectors' plate, handheld mirrors, pillbox, and bookmark.
Physical Location: [Item title/description; Box number/Folder number] Gustav Klimt Reproduction Souvenir collection (2021.002.h.r), Oskar Schindler
Archive, Chapman University, CA.
Language of Material:
English
.
Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer took three years to complete, was commissioned by the wealthy industrialist Ferdinand Bloch-Bauer.
Ferdinand Bloch-Bauer favored the arts, especially Klimt, and commissioned him to complete a portrait of his wife Adele in
1912. Adele Bloch-Bauer was the only person to be painted twice by Klimt. This painting is perhaps most famous not for its
artistic quality but because of its scandalous history since its inception. Upon her death, Adele Bloch-Bauer wished the painting
to be given to the Austrian State Gallery, but it was seized by advancing German forces in World War II. In 1945, Ferdinand
Bloch-Bauer designated the paintings to be the property of his nephew and nieces, including Maria Altmann. Nonetheless, the
Austrian government retained ownership of the painting and was not returned to the Altmann family until 2006 after a long
court battle. The painting was then sold at auction for 135 million dollars. It is now displayed at the Neue Art Gallery in
New York.
The material in this collection is souvenirs that were purchased at the Neue Art Gallery, including a collector's plate, bookmark,
pillbox, and a handheld mirror.
This collection is open for research use.
There are no restrictions on the use of this material except where previously copyrighted material is concerned. It is the
responsibility of the researcher to obtain all permissions.
Gustav Klimt (July 14, 1862 - February 6, 1918) was an Austrian Symbolist painter and one of the most prominent members of
the Vienna Art Nouveau. His major works include paintings, murals, sketches, and other art objects, many of which are on display
in the Vienna Secession gallery.
Klimt's work is distinguished by the elegant gold or colored decoration, often of a phallic shape that conceals the more erotic
positions of the drawings upon which many of his paintings are based. This can be seen in Judith I (1901), and in The Kiss
(1907–1908), and especially in Danaë (1907). One of the most common themes Klimt utilized was that of the dominant woman,
the femme fatale.
Subjects and Indexing Terms
Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945), and art
Jewish women in the Holocaust
Art