Cover Gustav Klimt legacy campaign launches in Hong Kong, sparked by Sotheby’s record-breaking sale (Photo: Tatler Hong Kong/ Tomy Tong)
Gustav Klimt legacy campaign launches in Hong Kong, sparked by Sotheby’s record-breaking sale (Photo: Tatler Hong Kong/ Tomy Tong)
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A new campaign celebrating the legacy of Austrian painter Gustav Klimt—one of whose paintings recently became the most expensive work of modern art ever sold at Sotheby’s—launches in Hong Kong
It wasn’t a Picasso, Monet or Warhol that set off a 19-minute bidding battle inside Sotheby’s New York’s Breuer Building last November. Rather, it was a mysterious and relatively little-known painting by Austrian artist Gustav Klimt (born on July 14, 1862), one of the major figures of the late-19th-century art nouveau period, which had been hidden from public view for decades.
The two-metre-tall painting, Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer (1914-16), depicting the 20-year-old daughter of two of the artist’s most committed patrons, fetched a jaw-dropping US$236.4 million—approximately HK$1.85 billion. This makes it the second priciest work of art ever to go under the hammer; the most expensive, Leonardo da Vinci’s oil painting Salvator Mundi, is surrounded by debate over whether or not the artist himself completed it.
Klimt has always been celebrated as a radical force in the modern art world; he broke away from the classical, naturalistic art and traditional themes promoted by Vienna’s art academies. He and several like-minded rebels formed the Vienna Secession movement in 1897, known for works that express structure and decoration through materials such as glass, iron and, in Klimt’s case, gold.
The historic auction put the artist at the forefront of the art market and study. In Hong Kong, Derek Collins, University of Hong Kong’s associate vice president for cultural and external affairs and director of the museum studies programme, is spearheading an initiative to further Klimt’s enduring legacy through The Kiss Legacy Project. This multi-faceted campaign, a collaboration between an international team based between Hong Kong, London and Vienna, is designed to expand global appreciation for Vienna’s Belvedere Museum collection while raising €15 million for a new visitor centre, which will begin construction in 2027. At its heart, the project seeks to connect modern audiences, particularly those in Hong Kong, to Klimt’s most iconic masterpiece, The Kiss.
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Above Audrey Puckett (Photo: Tatler Hong Kong/ Tomy Tong)
Audrey Puckett (Photo: Tatler Hong Kong/ Tomy Tong)
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The cornerstone of the project is a pioneering patron programme. Collins describes it as a “new form of digital patronage” which allows individuals to permanently link themselves to The Kiss. The programme operates by subdividing the painting into approximately 7,200 digital “tiles” or pixels. When a patron contributes to the project, they connect to one of these tiles and submit a photograph that will be incorporated into an original digital artwork titled The Kiss Reimagined. This digital mosaic will be created by Hong Kong artist Henry Chu, chosen for his rare blend of computer science expertise and artistic vision.
Collins views financial contributions to the new pieces as more than a simple transaction; he calls it a “digital heirloom”—an asset that, if desired, can be passed down through generations, effectively “making the patrons a permanent part of the art, which is almost the same as if Klimt were painting your portrait,” he says.
Such community involvement mirrors the foundations of Klimt’s own success. Collins points out
the artist’s career was built upon the support of powerful women in Viennese high society—often the wives and daughters of industrialists and businessmen who were at the cutting edge of their respective industries. “Basically, without [these women], there would not have been Klimt,” he says.
The Kiss Legacy Project places a deliberate emphasis on female patrons, drawing a direct line between affluent women in Hong Kong and the forward-thinking ones who championed modern art in turn-of-the-century Vienna. Historically, women were not only the subjects of Klimt’s art, representing femininity, romance and desire—he was famously a prolific womaniser—but also the movers and shakers responsible for new art movements and the foundation of museums through their patronage.
Entrepreneur Audrey Puckett is the first honorary Kiss patron. She is excited to be a part of a campaign in which women contribute to how art is experienced and carried forward. “I love Klimt’s art and the women he adored. I love the idea of lineage and connecting these influential women at the pinnacle of society in Vienna to similar women in Hong Kong and around the world,” she says. “High-society women have always been important patrons in the art world, [and] cultural heritage is important to preserve.”
The Kiss, 1907, by Gustav Klimt (1862-1918), oil on canvas, 180x180 cm (Photo: DeAgostini/ Getty Images)
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Hong Kong’s world-class art scene and its deep philanthropic history made it ideal as one of the bases for this project. “Hong Kong is one of the most philanthropic cities,” Collins says, adding that a high percentage of ultra-high-net-worth individuals in the city give charitably. Wolfgang Bergmann, managing director of the Belvedere Museum, adds: “Hong Kong has become an essential hub in the global cultural landscape, bringing together audiences, institutions and ideas from across the world. For the Belvedere, the engagement of the Hong Kong-based honorary Kiss patrons community demonstrates how contemporary forms of patronage can support the conservation of historic collections while opening new pathways for cultural dialogue and international collaboration.”
Hong Kong was also selected for its geographical and cultural symbolism. One of the most intriguing aspects of the campaign is the exploration of Klimt’s deep connection to Asian art. “In the latter part of his life, he was very interested in both Japanese and Chinese art, and he incorporates that into his work,” Collins says. “His work literally embodies east meets west. Our project between Hong Kong and the Belvedere Museum is also east meets west.”
Portrait of Elisabeth Lederer is a prime example of this interest. While the background of the painting may appear floral from a distance, closer inspection reveals that it is populated by Chinese figures taken from vase paintings. Klimt also incorporated gold in a way that leaned heavily on Japanese aesthetics and created backgrounds that echoed the delicate complexity of Asian design. “He wasn’t just taking the models he learnt from [observing art from different cultures] and just extending them a little bit; he’s dramatically moving in different directions,” says Collins. “He was carving his own path—and that’s what makes him so interesting.”
The Kiss Legacy Project will launch this month. Collins sees it as a way to bridge generations and ensure that Klimt’s radical vision continues to inspire. Visiting the Belvedere Museum or any art institutions, he emphasises, is an irreplaceable way to experience art—but he believes the campaign offers new possibilities in the preservation of art legacies. “The most exciting angle is the way you connect yourself directly to his art. People often talk about immersive exhibitions where paintings are digitalised; you walk around and it looks like you’re in the painting,” he says. “[The Kiss Legacy Project] is an example, where you’re literally going to be a part of the digital Kiss Reimagined. I think it’s going to give people a sense of recognition and pride to be directly connected to the work itself permanently.
“Klimt is completely in his own element; that’s what makes him so unique and powerful. It’s been more than a hundred years and we’re still fascinated by him—and I think we will be a hundred years from now.”
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