Gustav Klimt's last painting before his death sold for $80 million

Lady with a Fan is a bust portrait of an unnamed woman that was still on the easel in Gustav Klimt's studio when the artist died in February 1918.

The painting will lead the Sotheby's auction on June 27 in London, England, with an estimated price of about $80 million. According to Sotheby's, that price makes it "the most valuable thing ever offered at auction in Europe."

Lady with a Fan is a bust portrait of an unnamed woman that was still on the easel in Gustav Klimt's studio when the artist died in February 1918.

"The work shows Gustav Klimt at the height of his creative powers, drawing on images from Asia that he was obsessed with, such as the lotus flower and other elements in the painting. It is very rare for a female portrait of this quality and caliber by Klimt to come to auction ," Helena Newman, Sotheby's Europe chairman and global head of modern art, impressionism, told Reuters.

Last offered for sale in 1994, the painting is one of the few portraits by Gustav Klimt in private collections, according to auction house Sotheby's.

Works on display during a press preview at Hall des Lumieres in Manhattan, New York, USA

Other works of art offered this time include Lucian Freud's Night Interior (10 million - 14 million USD), a rare self-portrait by Leonor Fini (500,000 - 700,000 USD), a bronze artwork - a bust by Alberto Giacometti called Buste de Diego au col roulé (5 million - 7 million USD)...

Gustav Klimt (1862 - 1918) was an Austrian symbolist painter. His major works include paintings, murals, sketches, and many other works of art. His main subject was the depiction of the female form.   His pencil drawings depict the seductive sensuality of women, whether nude or scantily clad.

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