In this lavish volume the best of Gustav Klimt's abundant sketches and the finished paintings are brought together.

This is the definitive presentation of the best of Klimt's exotic, ornate works, his dramatic and spontaneous sketches, and of the extraordinary milieu which fostered his gift.

The author knew Klimt in his last years and is a noted Klimt scholar. He uses original sources and a wealth of personal photographs to place Klimt in the context of the society which he both shocked and delighted.

Newspapers and photographs of the period, together with new sources, are used to enhance knowledge of the artist, broadening the reader's insight into his world - his friends, contemporaries and patrons; the impact of his work in Vienna and beyond; and the women who were the subject of Klimt's attention both in and out of his studio.