Austria must return 'Nazi-theft' Klimts

[Judi Lynn]

Austria must return 'Nazi-theft' Klimts
Paintings worth $150 million to be given to Jewish family

Monday, January 16, 2006; Posted: 8:37 a.m. EST (13:37 GMT)
VIENNA, Austria (AP) -- The Austrian governments should return five paintings by Gustav Klimt to the heir of a Jewish family, a Vienna arbitration court said Monday, indirectly backing the family's claims that the pictures were stolen by the Nazis.

While the ruling was not binding, lawyers for both the family and the government have said they would abide by it to end an 18-year legal struggle over who owns the paintings, estimated to be worth at least $150 million.

A decision to return the paintings would represent one of the costliest settlements since Austria's government started more than a decade ago returning valuable art objects looted by the Nazis.

Austrian government officials were not immediately available for comment. But E. Randol Schoenberg, the lawyer for Maria Altmann, the California woman claiming the paintings, said the decision "matches all of hopes and expectations."
(snip/...)

http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/europe/01/16/austria.paintings.ap/index.html

[Jade Fox]

1. I'm cconfused....

Were these paintings owned by the family of the woman who posed for them? If so, they rightfully belong to her descendants. But was she just a model?

As a Klimt fan, I confess I feel those paintings belong to the world.

[NashVegas]

2. A Little More

I did some digging and found this:

Her adoring husband commissioned the Klimt portrait. Later, he ordered a
second, and he collected several landscapes. Adele Bloch-Bauer died at age
43 of meningitis in 1925. Two years before, she had asked her husband to
donate the Klimts to the Austrian Gallery, and according to Austria, he
agreed to do it upon his own death.

But Ferdinand Bloch-Bauer was forced to give up the paintings prematurely
when the Nazis marched into Austria in 1938 and seized his home, business
and other possessions. He fled into exile.

Altmann said a letter by Bloch-Bauer proves he had no intention of
bequeathing the paintings to Nazi Austria.

"In Vienna and Bohemia, they took everything away from me," Bloch-Bauer
wrote Austrian artist Oskar Kokoschka in 1941. "Perhaps I will get the 2
portraits of my poor wife and my portrait. I should find out about
that this week. Otherwise, I am totally impoverished."

...

Ferdinand fled to Zurich, and the portrait of his wife was sent
to the Austrian Gallery with a cover letter signed, "Heil Hitler."

When Ferdinand Bloch-Bauer died penniless in a Zurich hotel room in 1945, he
had made up a new will, naming Altmann and her now-deceased siblings as
heirs.


http://www.bslaw.net/news/040225.html

The best we can hope for is that Mrs. Altmann will eventually donate them. But under the circumstance, I see no obligation.

[Jade Fox]

3. Thanks....

'The best we can hope for is that Mrs. Altmann will eventually donate them. But under the circumstance, I see no obligation.'

I agree.

[seemslikeadream]

4. Klimts one of my favs

[MrPrax]

5. Devil's Advocate:

It's seems the family has clear title and the Austrian would appear to be kinda mean dragging this out.

BUT, shouldn't the efforts of the various Austrian cultural bodies, including their national museum, that contributed handily to the 150 million dollar price tag to Klimt's paintings, also be reflected in the settlement?

For decades the Austrians have treated him in reverence as one their 20th century cultural heroes, could they not be seen as national treasures and protected as such?

Let's face it--there is a lot of disputed 'art' out there and would hate to see decades and decades of public efforts wasted to promote art and it's value, only to have it become TOO valuable for the public to even see...trading cards for the ultra rich.

[NashVegas]

6. In This Case, I Disagree

Besides the ownership arguments above, I don't believe all that much has been done to promote Klimt.

I'm more educated on art than the average person, and I'd never even heard of Klimpt until last summer, when I just happened to ponder to a friend over the lack of erotic/sensual art from the "masters." That was when I was told about Klimpt.

Maybe if Altmann and her heirs work with US galleries/museums, where there's more greed in licensing, his work will be better promoted.

[Name removed]

8. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Name removed]

12. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Coventina]

13. Yikes. You are not doing the field of Art History any favors.

Your post is really insulting.

As a fellow Art Historian, please try to be a little more sensitive to people who haven't received the education that you have.

[Name removed]

15. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Coventina]

16. Calling fellow DUers stupid is against the board rules.

And that is exactly what is happening here.


on edit: deleted usernames

[Name removed]

17. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Coventina]

18. Behavior and character are linked. And your behavior is pretty

illuminating of your character, I must say.

Your post was very condescending and rude. As an Art Historian, it is your duty to educate, not insult.

[Ben Ceremos]

19. Read

reply # 9 and the original post to which I responded. As for your assumption that character and behavior go together, it vindicates my response to the original insult wielding poster. You come across as a poor teacher and a worse student. Read what is posted and drop your officious stance. Period.

[Coventina]

20. How was the original post insulting?

There was nothing in it that justified your belittling attitude toward the poster and Florida.

Reply #9 was not phrased with the nastiness that your reply was.

Just because I called you on your mean attitude does not give you any insight into what kind of teacher or student I am.

You sure seem to have a massive chip on your shoulder.

And BTW: Insulting the moderators is also against DU rules. Perhaps you should read the rules a little more carefully.

[Bridget Burke]

14. "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" is in touch with the zeitgeist!

When Buffy went to college, she ran into a group of vampires that killed students for more than their blood. After a student disappeared, they would leave a note saying "School is too much for me. I'm going home." Then they'd clean out the dorm room & take all the stuff to their nests.

As they inspected their loot, the vamps played their ongoing game. Does the wall art include Monet--or Klimt? Many prints of "The Kiss" embellished the dingy walls of their dismal lair.

[bleedingheart]

9. his "The Kiss" is one of the most famous paintings in the world

all you need do is mention it to folks and they will know it...

Hell Marshalls and Joann Fabrics frequently have a copy of that framed for sale...it is so popular..

I grew up in the "house of polka" and yet I knew of Klimt as a child...

[Bridget Burke]

11. Klimt has been promoted worldwide for some years now.

Calendars.com offers 7 Klimt calendars...

http://www.calendars.com/xq/asp/TID.{8004366C-F122-4CB6-90FB-FD96EB7BFE8E}/PID.1/MGID.-1/IID.22518/qx/product.htm

This one features the famous portrait of Adele Bloch Bauer that is part of the bequest.

Trust me, Klimt reproductions are everywhere--Allposters.com offers 555 items.

http://www.allposters.com/gallery.asp?aid=96333269&c=c&search=2133&GCID=s15100x001&KEYWORD=%5BKlimt%5D

[xchrom]

7. i just saw some of those paintings at

the neue galerie in new york.

it was august.

the galarie is dedicated to german/austrian art.

it was fantastic -- they also had a retrospective of some deco and bauhause furniture.

oh and some max beckman

anyway -- carry on...

[henslee]

10. Klimt's legend among comedy fans is assured... In Rodney Dangerfield's

Back to School, do you remember the scene at the party where a guy admiring A painting says to Rodney says, "Your wife was just showing me her Klimt".
Dangerfield replies,"Yeah... She's showing it to everyone!"

I know this is stupid. Havent had coffee yet.