Klimt paintings looted by Nazis to be sold at Christie's

Four of five oil paintings by Gustav Klimt that were the focus of a restitution battle between the Austrian government and the artworks’ Jewish heirs will be heading to Christie's for sale this autumn, the auction house said.

Christie’s has not determined whether the works – three landscapes and a portrait worth an estimated $100m (€77.8m) – will be auctioned or sold privately, Christie’s president Marc Porter was quoted as telling today’s edition of the New York Times.

A call to attorney Steven Thomas, who represents the heirs, was not immediately returned early today.

The paintings are on display at the Neue Galerie, a New York museum of German and Austrian art, along with one of Klimt’s most famous works, an ornate portrait of Viennese art patron Adele Bloch-Bauer from 1907.

The five Klimts were handed over by Austria in January to Maria Altmann of Los Angeles, Bloch-Bauer’s niece, and other family members following a seven-year legal battle. An arbitration court had ruled that they were improperly seized when the Nazis took over the country during the Second World War.

The paintings temporarily went on display at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art from April to June, when cosmetics mogul Ronald Lauder purchased the gold-flecked portrait of Bloch-Bauer for a reported 135 million dollars (£70.7 million), topping the previous listed world art record of $104.2m (€81m) for a Picasso.

The other portrait to be sold at Christie’s is a lesser known, colourful portrait of Bloch-Bauer executed between 1903 and 1916.

Lauder, the co-founder of the Neue Galerie, said he would consider purchasing one or more of the available paintings “if the price is right”.

“They’re all great pictures,” Lauder was quotes as telling The Times. “Each one would have something to add to the Neue Galerie’s collection. But if the buyer is not the Neue Galerie, I hope they will end up in other museums.”

Altmann said it did not matter to her whether Christie’s arranges an auction or private sales of the Klimts.

“I’ve never been to an auction, so I think it would be exciting,” Altmann said. “I’m simply hoping for the best, “ she added. “So far fate has been very good to me.”