Litzlbergkeller Auction History

Gustav Klimt’s Litzlbergkeller sold at Sotheby’s New York on May 13, 1997 for $14.7 million, setting a then-auction record for the artist. It remains in a private collection and, since 2018, has been on long‑term loan to the Leopold Museum, Vienna.

Artwork

Litzlbergkeller

Artist

Gustav Klimt

Best-known sale or transfer

Sotheby’s New York, May 13, 1997 — $14.7m

Sale type

Public auction

Current location / owner

Private collection (long-term loan to the Leopold Museum, Vienna)

Auction and Ownership Timeline

1916

Work completed in Vienna; Attersee subject

Vienna (Hietzing) and Attersee

Painted 1915–16 at the Attersee and completed in Klimt’s Hietzing studio; Klimt wrote to Otto Primavesi on May 3, 1916 that the painting was finished [1].

1916

First owners: Otto and Eugenia Primavesi

Vienna

The Primavesis—close patrons of Klimt—are recorded as the painting’s first owners [1].

1997

Estate of Serge Sabarsky, New York

New York

By 1997 the work was held by the Estate of Serge Sabarsky and consigned to auction as property of the estate [2].

1997-05-13

Sotheby’s New York: sold for $14.7 million

$14,700,000 · Sotheby’s, New York

Impressionist & Modern Art sale; titled in press as “Litzlberger Tavern on Lake Attersee.” The $14.7m price set a then-auction record for Klimt [2][3].

2018

Private collection; long-term loan to Leopold Museum

Leopold Museum, Vienna

From 2018 the painting has been in a private collection and on long-term loan to the Leopold Museum, Vienna [4][5].

2019-06-19

Shown at Gustav Klimt Zentrum, Attersee

Gustav Klimt Zentrum, Attersee

The Klimt-Foundation announced the work’s display at the Gustav Klimt Zentrum in summer 2019—returning the painting to its Attersee setting [4].

Provenance and Ownership

1915–1916: Painted at the Attersee and completed in Klimt’s Hietzing studio; first owners were Otto and Eugenia (Mäda) Primavesi, key patrons of the artist [1].

By 1997: Estate of Serge Sabarsky, New York; sold at Sotheby’s New York on May 13, 1997 for $14.7 million (buyer undisclosed) [2][3]. From 2018 it has been in a private collection and on long-term loan to the Leopold Museum, Vienna [4][5]. The chain of ownership between the Primavesi family and the Sabarsky estate is not publicly documented in the cited sources [1][2].

Why This Sale Matters

Klimt’s square-format Attersee landscapes form a cornerstone of his late oeuvre, and they have been consistently sought after by collectors. Litzlbergkeller achieved $14.7 million at Sotheby’s New York in 1997, a then-record auction price for the artist—underscoring early, robust demand for this subject and format [2][3]. The work’s dimensions (110 × 110 cm) and composition align with Klimt’s celebrated lake views, a category that has continued to set benchmarks in the market [5].

Since that 1997 milestone, prices for Klimt have risen sharply. A related Attersee landscape, Litzlberg am Attersee (restituted to heirs), sold for $40.4 million in 2011 [6]. Insel im Attersee reached $53.2 million in 2023 [7]. Beyond landscapes, headline results such as Birch Forest at $104.6 million (2022) [9] and the portrait Lady with a Fan at £85.3 million/$108.4 million (2023) [8] reflect the breadth of global demand. The current auction apex for Klimt is the 2025 sale of Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer for $236.4 million [10].

Provenance and visibility further bolster Litzlbergkeller’s significance. Its first owners, Otto and Eugenia Primavesi, were important patrons in Klimt’s circle [1], while its 1997 offering came from the well-known Serge Sabarsky estate—both factors that enhance market confidence [2]. Today the painting is in a private collection but on long-term loan to the Leopold Museum, ensuring continued scholarly and public engagement, which can support long-term market stature [4][5]. Press accounts have also referred to the work as “Litzlberger Tavern on Lake Attersee,” a title that links its auction visibility to Klimt’s broader Attersee series [2][3].