Portrait of an Unknown Woman

A saga inspired by the incredible but true story of the iconic Klimt painting

Painted in Vienna in 1910, Gustav Klimt's 'Portrait of a Lady' was purchased by an anonymous collector in 1916, retouched by the master a year later, then stolen in 1997 before reappearing in the gardens of an Italian modern art museum in 2019.

No art experts, museum curators, or police investigators know the identity of the young woman in the painting, nor the mysteries that surround the turbulent history of her portrait. 

From the streets of Vienna in 1900 to Texas in the 1980s, and from Manhattan during the Great Depression to contemporary Italy, de Peretti imagines the destiny of this young woman as well as that of her descendants, and creates a masterful fresco that intertwines family secrets, disappearances, and thwarted loves.



"A masterful fresco where family secrets, dazzling successes, thwarted loves, disappearances, and resounding dramas intertwine."



"Poetic and mesmerizing!"



"A masterful family saga with love, family secrets, drama, and betrayal. A story that takes the reader from Vienna to New York, via Italy, from 1910 to the 1980s."



"Through this great adventure novel, Camille de Peretti masterfully traverses eras and cities and constructs a story full of fury and emotion."