BY KAREN BOSSICK

The artist famed for “The Kiss” will be the subject of the Hailey Public Library’s Art Talk series this week.

Kathryn Zupsic will tell the story of Gustav Klimt, an Austrian symbolist painter born in 1862, at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 9.

Klimt sought to shake up the establishment with his somewhat controversial paintings. A member of the Vienna Secession movement, his primary subect was the female body. His works were marked by eroticism, and he was renowned for using gold leaf highlights on his suggestive images.

“Klimt was born in 1862 and trained and worked as a classical painter until tragedy beset his family when he was about 30 years old,” said Kristin Fletcher, the library’s programs and engagement manager. “After this time, his style became more personal and was even considered pornographic by some.  Later Klimt gained his greatest recognition during what is called his “Golden Phase’ when he used gold leaf on many paintings, including ‘The Kiss,’ his most famous.”

Kathryn Zupsic has been an art educator for over 25 years, working as a docent and lecturer for the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, the de Young Museum, and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.  She and her husband divide their time between Ketchum and a farm in Glenns Ferry.