Rarely seen Klimt painting returns to Austria after 60 years

VIENNA – A major work from the Austrian painter Gustav Klimt has returned to Vienna where it will be shown in its homeland for the first time in nearly 60 years, after museum officials pieced together its tumultuous history.

“Water Serpents II,” which depicts nymphs grappling with a red serpent, was completed in 1907 during Klimt’s so-called golden period, when he embraced the gold-leaf techniques he is known for today.

But unlike many of his other works it has…