NEW YORK, NY.- Neue Galerie New York and Bank of America announced the launch of a Masterpiece Moment featuring Gustav Klimt’s Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I (1907). Masterpiece Moment is a video series presented by Bank of America that explores great works of art from museums around the world. In this video, Neue Galerie director Renée Price offers expert insight on the Klimt portrait, which is in equal parts famous for its stunning composition and historically significant provenance. 

Popularly known as the Woman in Gold, the portrait has been called the greatest in the Klimt's "golden style," and is revolutionary for both its timeless beauty and a provenance story that represents perseverance and justice. Adele, the wife of a wealthy Jewish industrialist Ferdinand Bloch-Bauer, is posed in an ambiguous position, bedecked in precious jewelry. The diaphanous cloak that surrounds her is studded with her initials "AB." In 1938, the portrait was one of five Klimt paintings seized by the Nazis from the Bloch-Bauer home. For decades, the masterpiece was displayed in Vienna where it was renamed "Woman in Gold" to conceal the sitter's identity. Over the course of decades, surviving heir Maria Altmann fought for the return of her family's property. In 2005, a panel hearing before the United States Supreme Court determined that the paintings were to be restituted to the heirs. This was a landmark restitution case. In 2006, Ronald S. Lauder acquired Portrait of Adele Bloch- Bauer I for the Neue Galerie, and it has been on permanent view at the museum since, adhering to the wishes of the family. 

“We believe in the power of the arts to help communities thrive, and here in New York City, we are very fortunate to be a hub for museums, galleries and other cultural institutions,” said José Tavarez, President, Bank of America New York City. “We are thrilled to share the richness of our arts community by bringing Gustav Klimt’s striking ‘Woman in Gold’ to a larger audience through a partnership with Neue Galerie New York and our innovative digital art series – Bank of America’s Masterpiece Moment.”

The video launch coincides with the return of First Fridays at Neue Galerie New York, a program made possible with the generous support of Bank of America. On First Fridays, the museum is open late to the public free of charge from 5 to 8 p.m. Visitors are welcome to view Gustav Klimt's golden masterpiece, as well as the special exhibition, "The Ronald S. Lauder Collection." This major exhibition features approximately 500 works from the collection of the museum’s co-founder and President, many of which have never been on public display.