By Nina Heyn
Artworks by Gustav Klimt (1862-1918), the most popular representative of Viennese Art Nouveau, grace collections all over the world. After a protracted restitution battle, one of the most famous of his gold paintings, the Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer, is now in New York; galleries in cities like Tokyo, London, Tel Aviv, Venice, and many others each have a picture or two. Popular culture is awash with Klimt’s images, from bedroom poster decorations to nylon tote bags, often using just a few decorative elements from large compositions. On the other side of the spectrum there are movies, such as the enormously entertaining Woman in Gold or the just-produced Klimt & The Kiss in the Exhibition On Screen series.
