[CPProt.net] Nazi Art Theft Case To Arbitration

[Ellie Bruggeman]

Nazi Art Theft Case To Arbitration

A woman seeking the return of nearly $200 million worth of paintings 
stolen from her family after the Nazi invasion of Austria has agreed to 
arbitration with the Austrian government, her lawyer said Wednesday.

Maria Altmann, 89, has fought since 1998 to reclaim six Gustav Klimt 
paintings - including a colorful, gold-infused portrait of her aunt.

"I am feeling very good about the whole thing because it was dragging on 
and dragging on," Altmann said. "We are finally seeing an end, and I 
hope a happy end. I am very pleased that things can be solved in a 
friendly and peaceful way."

The two sides began mediation in March following the U.S. Supreme 
Court's decision last year that Altmann could sue the Austrian government.

Her attorney, E. Randol Schoenberg, said binding arbitration could begin 
as early as next month, and that a decision was expected in November.

"There are a lot of happy faces around the table today," said Martin 
Weiss, Counsel General for Austria. "It's an agreement all sides can 
view as fair."

The case stems from a 1998 Austrian law that required federal museums to 
review their holdings to see if they included works looted by the Nazis, 
and to find out whether the works were obtained by the museums without 
remuneration.

The Nazis seized the paintings from Altmann's Jewish family - including 
works that now hang in the Austrian Gallery - soon after they came to 
power in 1938.

Schoenberg says the family relinquished rights to the paintings in 1948 
only in exchange for Austria's release of other art works that belonged 
to them.

Among the paintings, the gold-encrusted "Adele Bloch-Bauer I" is one of 
Klimt's most famous pieces, similar in style to the world renowned "The 
Kiss."

"It's literally priceless," said Jane Kallir, co-director of the Galerie 
St. Etienne in New York City, which introduced Klimt to the United 
States in 1959.

An estimated 600,000 works of art were stolen by the Nazis during Adolf 
Hitler's rule in Germany.

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