1897 painting of Ghanaian prince on sale for €15 million
A long-lost painting by prominent Austrian artist Gustav Klimt has been rediscovered and is now on public display for the first time in nearly a century. Measuring over two feet tall, the artwork is being showcased by Viennese gallery, Wienerroither & Kohlbacher (W&K) at the prestigious TEFAF Maastricht art fair in the Netherlands, with a price tag of €15 million (approximately $16.3 million).
The 1897 portrait captures Prince William Nii Nortey Dowuona, a representative of the Ga people from present-day Ghana, portrayed in profile against a backdrop of fluid floral brushstrokes.
The painting’s existence had long been known to scholars, but its whereabouts remained a mystery until 2023, when two collectors approached W&K with the artwork. According to the gallery, the framed portrait was heavily soiled, with only a faint estate stamp linking it to Klimt.
To confirm its authenticity, W&K enlisted art historian Alfred Weidinger, who had been searching for the piece for two decades. Archival records indicate that the portrait was auctioned from Klimt’s estate in 1923 and later loaned to an exhibition in 1928 by Ernestine Klein, a Jewish art collector who, along with her husband, Felix, had converted Klimt’s former studio into a villa.
The couple fled Vienna in 1938 as Nazi persecution intensified, seeking refuge in Monaco. What happened to the painting in the decades that followed remained unknown until its reappearance last year. Following an extensive restoration and a restitution agreement with Klein’s heirs, the artwork is once again being exhibited to the public.
Klimt is believed to have painted the portrait during the Vienna Völkerschau of 1897, a colonial-era ethnographic exhibition that displayed people from Africa and other regions to European audiences. Weidinger’s research suggests that a group from Osu, Prince Dowuona’s homeland, was brought to Vienna for the event, and the portrait was likely a commissioned piece.
However, it ultimately remained in Klimt’s possession, according to Artnet. The painting represents a transitional period in the artist’s career, hinting at the decorative elements and stylized forms that would later define his most famous works.
Klimt’s enduring legacy continues to shape the art world. His masterpiece The Kiss remains one of the most recognizable and celebrated paintings in history, drawing hundreds of thousands of visitors to Vienna’s Belvedere Museum each year. In 2023, another Klimt portrait—his final completed work, depicting a mysterious woman holding a fan—set a new auction record when it sold for £85.3 million ($108.4 million) in London.
The sale not only surpassed Klimt’s previous auction records but also made the painting the most expensive artwork ever sold in Europe. That same year, another rediscovered Klimt portrait, Portrait of Fräulein Lieser, believed to be one of his last works, fetched €30 million ($32 million).
Now, with the reappearance of Prince Dowuona’s portrait, yet another piece of Klimt’s artistic legacy has been restored, offering a rare glimpse into an early chapter of his career—one that intertwines European art history with the rich cultural heritage of West Africa.
Written by Kweku Sampson.
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