Nazi-looted Klimt sold for £25.4m NEWS
A Gustav Klimt landscape which was recently returned to the owner's family after being looted by the Nazis has been sold at auction for $40.4m (£25.4m) at Sotheby's in New York.
The 1915 painting of a lake in Austria was originally owned by Austrian iron magnate Viktor Zuckerkandl and was inherited by his sister after his death in 1927.
When the Nazis invaded Austria, Zuckerkandl's sister was deported in 1941, never to be seen again. Her art collection was looted by the Nazis and sold off.
Litzlberg on the Attersee was returned to grandson Georges Jorisch, 83, by Salzburg's Museum in July after providing substantial proof the piece was rightfully his.
Other highlights of the Sotheby's impressionist and modern art sale included Le pont d'Argenteuil et la Seine by French impressionist Gustave Caillebotte, which fetched $9.3m (£5.8m) and Picasso's oil painting L'Aubade, which sold for $23m (£14.5m).
A Henri Matisse sculpture, Nu de dos, was expected to be the highlight of the auction, however it was withdrawn after being sold privately for an undisclosed sum. The estimated value of Nu de dos was $30m (£18.9m).
The auction at Sotheby's fetched a staggering $200m (£125.6m) with 57 out of 70 lots bought.
Mr Norman, Sotheby's head of impressionist and modern art, said: 'There's just tremendous strength coming from all over the world.'
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