C oming to auction this June in Sotheby’s London’s Masterpieces from the Lewis Collection, discover the portraits that shaped the cultural evolution of Vienna. These cultural icons are on view in London, 10 - 23 June, with the evening auction taking place on 24 June.
At the turn of the twentieth century, Vienna was one of the most intellectually charged cities in Europe. Artists, writers, architects, and thinkers were reimagining how modern life could be understood and represented. At the centre of that transformation stood the Vienna Secession, a movement led by Gustav Klimt that challenged academic tradition and sought a new visual language for a rapidly changing world.
The dialogue between Gustav Klimt and Egon Schiele reveals how quickly that new language evolved. In Klimt's Portrait of Gertrud Loew, identity becomes atmosphere, beauty, and symbolism. In Schiele's Danaë, the body emerges as something more urgent, exposed, and psychologically complex. Together, these works capture a city in the midst of reinvention, where ideas about art, desire, individuality, and the human condition were being radically reconsidered. Drawn from the Lewis Collection, they offer a glimpse into Vienna at one of the most influential moments in the history of modern art.
Learn more about about the collection by visiting sothebys.com/lewiscollection
