Beautiful and stylish, Serena Pulitzer Lederer was a star of turn-of-the-century Viennese society. For this portrait, commissioned by her husband, the industrialist August Lederer, Klimt employed soft, sinuous brushstrokes to present Serena as an apparition in white. "An upright flower, long-stemmed … like a black tulip," enthused one critic when the painting was shown in 1901 at the tenth exhibition of the Vienna Secession—a group founded by Klimt and other artists four years earlier, with the aim of putting the city at the forefront of the international art world. The Lederers subsequently formed the finest collection of Klimt’s work in private hands.
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Credit Line:Purchase, Wolfe Fund, and Rogers and Munsey Funds, Gift of Henry Walters, and Bequests of Catharine Lorillard Wolfe and Collis P. Huntington, by exchange, 1980
Accession Number:1980.412
Inscription: Signed (lower right): GVS.TAV / KLIMT·
August and Serena Lederer, Bartensteingasse, Vienna (1899–his d. 1936; commissioned from the artist for 35,000 kronen); Serena Lederer, Vienna (1936–d. 1943); their son, Erich Lederer, Geneva (1943–80; sale, Dorotheum, Vienna, March 18–20, 1948, no. 76, as "Bildnis einer stehenden Dame in weißem Gesellschaftskleid vor hellgrauen Hintergrund," for (Ba) (8000,-) 3000, withdrawn [with no. 75, Klimt's portrait of his sister, Elisabeth (N & D 188)] ; on deposit from 1949–80 in the Öffentliche Kunstsammlung, Kunstmuseum Basel; sold to The Met)
Vienna. Secession. "X. Kunst Ausstellung der Vereinigung Bilden der Künstler Österreichs Secession," March 15–May 12, 1901, no. 66 (as "Bildnis Serena Lederer") [see Nebehay 1969].
Paris. Galeries nationales du Grand Palais. "Klimt, Schiele, Moser, Kokoschka: Vienne 1900," October 3, 2005–January 23, 2006, unnumbered cat. (p. 231).
Martigny. Fondation Pierre Gianadda. "The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York: Chefs-d'œuvre de la peinture européenne," June 23–November 12, 2006, no. 28.
The Hague. Gemeentemuseum. "Toorop in Wenen: Inspiratie voor Klimt," October 7, 2006–January 7, 2007, no. 50.
New York. Neue Galerie. "Birth of the Modern: Style and Identity in Vienna 1900," February 24–August 8, 2011, no. 47.
Neue Galerie New York. "Gustav Klimt and the Women of Vienna's Golden Age, 1900–1918," September 22, 2016–January 16, 2017, not in checklist (pp. 118–19 in catalogue).
Berlin. Alte Nationalgalerie. "Secessions: Klimt, Stuck, Liebermann," June 23–November 5, 2023, unnumbered cat. (ill. p. 118).
LOAN OF THIS WORK IS RESTRICTED.
Ver Sacrum 4 (March 15, 1901), p. 155 (installation of painting in the 1901 Secession exhibition) [see Refs. Novotny and Dobai 1968 and Nebehay 1969].
Ludwig Hevesi. "Neue Bilder von Klimt: Sezession." Fremden-Blatt (March 16, 1901) [reprinted in "Acht Jahre Sezession (Marz 1897–June 1906) Kritik - Polemik - Chronik," by Ludwig Hevesi, Vienna, 1906, p. 318].
Franz Servaes. "Feuilleton: Secession (Eine Porträtgalerie—Gustav Klimt)." Neue Freie Presse (March 19, 1901), p. 1, possibly addressing this work.
Max Eisler, ed. Gustav Klimt, eine Nachlese. Vienna, 1931, p. 15, pl. 6.
Emil Pirchan. Gustav Klimt. Vienna, 1956, p. 53, erroneously dates it 1902, and places it in the collection "L" in Geneva.
Johannes Dobai. "Das Frühwerk Gustav Klimts." PhD diss., Universität Wien, 1958, pp. 8–9; footnote section, p. 7 n. 23, pp. 21–22 n. 106, p. 40 n. 217; catalogue section, p. 63, no. 87, p. 201, under no. 233, suggests it as an example of a possible exchange of influences with Hodler; mentions a sketch for the painting in the collection of R. Zimpel, Vienna.
Gustav Klimt: 150 bedeutende Zeichnungen. Exh. cat., Christian M. Nebehay. Vienna, 1962, unpaginated, under no. 24.
Christian M. Nebehay. Gustav Klimt, eine Nachlese: 70 bedeutende Zeichnungen. Exh. cat., Christian M. Nebehay. Vienna, [1963], p. 4, ill., notes that Klimt received 35,000 Kronen for it.
Fritz Novotny and Johannes Dobai. Gustav Klimt, With a Catalogue Raisonné of His Paintings. German ed. 1967. New York, 1968, pp. 312–13, 360–61, 384, no. 103, ill. p. 312 and pl. 17, date it 1899; enumerate the sketches in Vienna at the Albertina and the Historisches Museum.
Christian M. Nebehay. Gustav Klimt: Sein Leben nach zeitgenössischen Berichten und Quellen. Munich, 1969, pp. 141–42, fig. 156, places it in the E. Lederer collection, on deposit at the Kunstmuseum Basel.
Christian M. Nebehay, ed. Gustav Klimt: Dokumentation. Vienna, 1969, pp. 38, 176, 191–192 n. 2, 193, 239, 249, colorpl. 280 and fig. 338, remarks that this commission marks the beginning of Klimt's relationship with the Lederer family, who became the most important collectors of his work; reproduces a photograph of the installation of the 1901 Secession exhibition.
Johannes Dobai. Gustav Klimt. Exh. cat., Piccadilly Gallery. London, 1973, unpaginated, under no. 7.
Peter Vergo. Art in Vienna 1898–1918. London, 1975, pp. 226–27, pl. 195.
Alessandra Comini. Gustav Klimt. New York, 1975, pp. 13, 17, 30, colorpl. 4, notes the influence of Whistler.
Otto Breicha, ed. Gustav Klimt: Die Goldene Pforte, Werk - Wesen - Wirkung. Salzburg, 1978, p. 12.
Sergio Coradeschi inL'opera completa di Klimt. Milan, 1978, pp. 96–97, no. 84, ill. and colorpl. XIV.
Alice Strobl. Gustav Klimt: die Zeichnungen. Vol. 1, 1878–1903. Salzburg, 1980, pp. 143–44, ill., identifies and illustrates thirteen studies.
John Pope-Hennessy inThe Metropolitan Museum of Art: Notable Acquisitions, 1980–1981. New York, 1981, p. 47, ill. (color).
Angelica Bäumer. Gustav Klimt: Women. London, 1986, pp. 25, 50, colorpl. 11 [German ed., "Gustav Klimt: Frauen," Galerie Welz, Salzburg], incorrectly as in the Lederer collection, Geneva.
Christian M. Nebehay. Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele, und die Familie Lederer. Bern, 1987, pp. 24–25, ill. (color).
Christian Brandstätter inGustav Klimt. Ed. Toni Stooss and Christoph Doswald. Exh. cat., Kunsthaus Zürich. Stuttgart, 1992, pp. 329–30, 366, ill. (color).
Christian M. Nebehay. Gustav Klimt, von der Zeichnung zum Bild. Vienna, 1992, pp. 194–95, 225 n. 3, fig. 226 (color), erroneously reports that Lederer paid Kr 30,000 for it.
Christian Brandstätter. Gustav Klimt und die Frauen. Vienna, 1994, pp. 54–55, ill. (color detail).
Katharine Baetjer. European Paintings in The Metropolitan Museum of Art by Artists Born Before 1865: A Summary Catalogue. New York, 1995, p. 240, ill. p. 241.
Catherine Dean. Klimt. London, 1996, pp. 21, 54–55, no. 12, colorpl. 12, suggests that Serena commissioned the portrait from Klimt after his success with that of Sonja Knips (N & D 91; Österreichische Galerie, Vienna).
Tobias G. Natter inKlimt's Women. Ed. Tobias G. Natter and Gerbert Frodl. Exh. cat., Osterreichische Galerie Belvedere, Vienna. Cologne, 2000, pp. 35, 45, 48, 59, 68, 88–91, 133, 199, ill. (color) [German ed., "Klimt und die Frauen," pp. 36, 45, 49, 59, 62, 67, 69, 88–91, 133, 140, 199–200, ill. (color)], gives details of Serena's life and marriage, and of the Lederers' art patronage; credits the Dutch Symbolist Jan Toorop with the parallel linear structures that make up the garment; notes that Klimt preferred pale-colored dresses and comments that Serena's "empire-style 'Reformkleid,' designed for a body unrestricted by whalebone corsets, emphasizes the clearly sensual aspect of the wearer".
Marian Bisanz-Prakken inGustav Klimt: Modernism in the Making. Ed. Colin B. Bailey. Exh. cat., National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa. New York, 2001, pp. 107, 152, 225 n. 40, fig. 95 (color), notes that the studies for this portrait employ a compositional device that Klimt first used here, with the standing figure cut off at the top and bottom of the sheet.
Stephan Koja. Gustav Klimt Landscapes. Exh. cat.Munich, 2002, p. 196.
Sophie Lillie. Was einmal war: Handbuch der enteigneten Kunstsammlungen Wiens. Vienna, 2003, pp. 664, 1245, ill. p. 661.
Sylvie Aigner inKlimt, Schiele, Moser, Kokoschka: Vienne 1900. Exh. cat., Galeries nationales du Grand Palais. Paris, 2005, pp. 230, 234, ill. p. 231 (color), suggests that Klimt chose the modern dress worn by Lederer for this picture, noting that she allowed the artist to use her wardrobe for the models in his painting "Schubert at the Piano" of the same year (no longer extant).
Sophie Lillie. "The Jenny Steiner Collection: A Case Study in Private Collecting in Pre-1938 Vienna." Vitalizing Memory: International Perspectives on Provenance Research. Washington, 2005, p. 88.
Katharine Baetjer inThe Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York: Chefs-d'œuvre de la peinture européenne. Exh. cat., Fondation Pierre Gianadda. Martigny, 2006, pp. 155–60, no. 28, ill. (color, overall and details), observes that although Klimt admired Whistler, he would have only known his "Symphony in White" (National Gallery of Art, Washington) from a reproduction, which could not have conveyed its color effects; discusses this picture's similarities to Klimt's portrait of Sonia Knips (Österreichische Galerie, Vienna) and to his "Schubert at the Piano" and a sketch for "Jurisprudence" (both formerly Lederer collection, no longer extant).
Marian Bisanz-Prakken. Toorop/ Klimt. Toorop in Wenen: Inspiratie voor Klimt. Exh. cat., Gemeentemuseum, The Hague. Zwolle, The Netherlands, 2006, pp. 130–31, no. 50, ill. (color).
Alfred Weidinger inThe Women of Klimt, Schiele and Kokoschka. Exh. cat., Belvedere. Vienna, 2015, p. 216, fig. 4 (color), discusses the painting in the context of images of women in white by Klimt and other artists, suggesting that it was inspired by Fernand Khnopff's portrait "Marguerite Khnopff" (1887; Musées royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique, Brussels) and possibly by James McNeill Whistler's "Symphony in White, No. 1: The White Girl" (1861–62; National Gallery of Art, Washington).
Tobias G. Natter inKlimt and the Women of Vienna's Golden Age, 1900–1918. Ed. Tobias G. Natter. Exh. cat., Neue Galerie. New York, 2016, pp. 34, 38, 40–42, 44–46, 49, 52–54 n. 10, pp. 118, 120, 124, ill. p. 119 and figs. 1 (color), 9 (installation photograph of 1901 10th Vienna Secession), 15 (in photograph of Lederer salon), based on preparatory drawings, notes that Klimt seems to have decided from the outset to portray her standing; suggests that her first name, though recorded variously over time, should most correctly be recorded as Szerena, based on a 1936 Lederer family announcement of her husband's death; states that it "vanished" "under unexplained circumstances" in Vienna in 1943–44 but turned up at auction in Vienna in 1948, where it was withdrawn and returned to Erich Lederer; compares it to two other portraits of women in white dresses by Klimt from this period, "Portrait of Gertha Loew" (1902, Lewis Collection) and "Portrait of Fritza Riedler" (1906, Belvedere, Vienna).
Emily Braun inKlimt and the Women of Vienna's Golden Age, 1900–1918. Ed. Tobias G. Natter. Exh. cat., Neue Galerie. New York, 2016, pp. 57–58, 76 nn. 3, 6.
Christian Witt-Dörring inKlimt and the Women of Vienna's Golden Age, 1900–1918. Ed. Tobias G. Natter. Exh. cat., Neue Galerie. New York, 2016, p. 200.
Angela Völker inKlimt and the Women of Vienna's Golden Age, 1900–1918. Ed. Tobias G. Natter. Exh. cat., Neue Galerie. New York, 2016, pp. 277, 279, 290 n. 21, compares Lederer's dress to the one worn by Hermine Gallia in her portrait by Klimt (1904, National Gallery, London); notes that Lederer may have chosen to be depicted in a reform dress as a statement of her "loyalty to the Modern Age".
Charles Brock in Margaret F. MacDonald. The Woman in White: Joanna Hiffernan and James McNeill Whistler. Exh. cat., National Gallery of Art. Washington, 2020, pp. 183–85, fig. 6 (color), discusses it as a response to Whistler's "Symphony in White, No. 1: The White Girl" (1872, National Gallery of Art, Washington) as well as to Whistler's second and third versions of the subject.
Serena Lederer and her husband August Lederer were Klimt's most important patrons. They owned, among many other works, Klimt's Philosophy (Novotny and Dobai 1968 no. 87), Jurisprudence (N & D 86), and the monumental Beethoven Frieze (N & D 127; Österreichische Galerie, Vienna). Klimt painted the Lederers' daughter Elisabeth Franziska, Baroness Bachofen-Echt (N & D 188; Kunstmuseum, Basel) and Serena's mother, Charlotte Pulitzer (N & D 190; stolen, whereabouts unknown). Most of the collection was seized as Jewish property and stored at Schloss Immendorf, which the German troops ignited as the Russians approached in 1945.
For information on the thirteen preliminary drawings for this portrait, see Strobl's 1980 catalogue raisonné of Klimt's drawings. Nine drawings are at the Albertina, Vienna (nos. 442, 444, 446, 448–49, 451–54), two at the Historisches Museum der Stadt Wien (nos. 447, 450), one in the British Museum (no. 445), and one in a private collection (no. 443).
A major new acquisition was recently installed in the galleries of nineteenth- and early twentieth-century European paintings and sculpture: a statue of the sea goddess Galatea, made in 1906 by the leading German artist Max Klinger.
Assistant Curator Alison Hokanson introduces a bevy of temporary loans on view in August in the nineteenth-century European Paintings galleries, as well as the first installation of all sixteen of the European Paintings department's Van Gogh paintings in several years.
Gustav Klimt (Austrian, Baumgarten 1862–1918 Vienna)
1913
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