Adele Bloch-Bauer’s Art features a collection of five paintings by Gustav Klimt. The artist is well known for his 1907 portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer that has turned out to be the world’s most expensive painting of our time. In 2006, American businessman and art collector, Ronald Steven Lauder, acquired ownership of this portrait at $135 million after 68 years of injustice in the hands of Nazi looters (O’Connor, 2012). During the Second World War, Austrian Nazis looted five Klimt paintings that had been inherited by Austrian-American Jewish refugee from Austria who fled her homeland to California when it was occupied by Nazis. As thousands of visitors crowd into Lauder’s museum to see Klimt’s gallery, very few are aware of the story that lies behind these masterpieces.
Although, a rumor that Klimt and Adele had an affair has never been confirmed, Klimt painted portraits of Adele using gold. When Adele died of meningitis in1925, Altmann was given most of her belongings especially jewelry. However, during Second World War, Hitler soldiers seized their house and made away with all their valuables. Altmann and her family members managed to escape but Ferdinand Bloch-Bauer who managed the family art business was left behind. Later they learnt that he died in Zurich and had left behind a will in which he named Maria and her siblings as his heirs (Thompson & Curtis, 2015). However, they discovered that his property had been seized and their Vienna mansion had been converted to Austrian State Railway headquarters. Altmann recalls reading some confidential records that revealed how Bloch-Bauer Klimt paintings became property of Belvedere Gallery. Belvedere officials insisted that Adele had left Klimt’s’ collection for Gallery in her will (Thompson & Curtis, 2015). This is the idea they used to force Ferdinand into giving Klimt’s work to Gallery. Later, the paintings were stolen three times: first by Nazis and then twice by Austrian government.
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Austria joined many nations after the Second World War in signing an agreement that will ensure all stolen museum collections are returned to the owners. The government prohibited export of works of national heritage and blackmailed Austrian refugees living abroad into surrendering valuable property. A paper-trail indicates that Belvedere Gallery allegations were a fantasy and Adele’s will was not legally binding (O’Connor, 2012). When Altmann discovered that Klimt had been commissioned and paid for by Ferdinand and were therefore his property, she decided to seek United States legal help in pursuing Ferdinand’s will. She went to this extent because Austria had passed an act that made it hard for refugees to move their arts out of the country.
It took approximately seven years for Altmann in a legal battle with the Republic of Austria to gain the rightful ownership of the art collection that was illegally stolen from their predecessors. On the contrary to many who believed the duo could not win against Austria, arbitration court in Vienna ruled in January, 2006 that Austria’s state owned Klimt’s gallery must be returned to Maria Altmann and Ferdinand Bloch-Bauer, the last direct relative of the original owner. With the assistance of United States Supreme Court, Austria agreed in November 2005 to arbitration in which Altmann won. They returned the five art collections estimated to be worth more than $300 million to Altmann and other heirs who were residing in the United States (Thompson & Curtis, 2015). However, Vienna’s court decision outraged many art experts that they allowed Klimt’s art that was their pride and heritage to leave Austria. They had suggested that Austria strike a deal with Altmann to either keep some or purchase the paintings however the state was not financially able to make seventy million euros purchase of the items.
Historically, the Austrians have been known for being social and Altmann was among those people who believed in dialogue. She made a generous offer in 1999 to Austria to make arrangements of compensating her and let the gold portrait stay in Vienna but the government never replied (O’Connor, 2012) . This forced her to seek the help from US federal government to assist her in seeking for justice. However, she says that this case was not solely about material possessions but the need for Austria to acknowledge the long-forgotten Austrian families that were persecuted, murdered, and some forced to flee their native land.
References
O’Connor, A. M. (2012 ). The lady in gold: The extraordinary tale of Gustav Klimt’s masterpiece, portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer. New York, NY: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.
Thompson, D. M. (Producer) & Curtis, S. (Director). (2015). Woman in Gold: The painting the Nazis stole [Motion Picture]. United Kingdom: British Board of Film Classification.
