Confronted with the prospect of a long and expensive litigation, the Republic of Austria accepted to resort to arbitration in order to avoid another defeat in court. Various paintings were selected in the Museum’s bid to raise more than $65 million. The paintings had remained in Austrian state hands following the Anschluss but, in 2006, after a long and costly legal battle fought from the US, were restituted to Ferdinand’s niece, Maria Altmann. She settled in California in 1942 and became an American citizen in 1945. The committee’s decision was controversial, as it was obvious that the committee’s reasoning was problematic and went against Ferdinand’s written will. LOS ANGELES (AP) - Maria Altmann, a refugee from Nazi-occupied Austria who successfully fought to recover Gustav Klimt paintings looted from her Jewish family, has died. The sudden and significant decrease in their ticket proceeds has meant that most museums are struggling to cover their operating costs and whilst government funds were distributed to them, these are often not enough. One such issue was the relaxation of rules relating to the sale of paintings and other art objects by museums and art galleries in the US. – 1998: The painting Portrait of Wally, by Schiele, was confiscated in New York while on loan from the Austrian National Gallery. For many years, Altmann had assumed that the Austrian National Gallery had taken possession of the Klimt paintings. Consequently, institutions with objects of questionable origins in their collections should be aware of the fact that these objects may be subject to restitution and that any attempt to sell the objects in their possession will result in controversy. In this regard, did Maria Altmann get her necklace? As the Supreme Court noted in its decision, Altmann had already tried suing the museum before in Austria, but was forced to … This is especially so for art looted by the Nazis prior to their defeat in 1945. The bombastic nature of events in 2020 meant that many issues were under-reported. Galleries, museums, and other public institutions must keep this into consideration when making any decisions about their holdings and should be aware of their potential legal obligation to return them to their rightful owners. Maria Altmann, pursuer of looted paintings, died on February 7th, aged 94. Her uncle, Ferdinand Bloch-Bauer, died in 1945. Her request was denied by the Austrian Restitution Committee in 1999 based on the fact that her uncle had expressed a wish during his lifetime for the paintings to be donated to the Austrian museum. Maria Altmann famously won back prized Klimt paintings that were stolen from her Jewish family by the Nazis. Article 1 of the Federal Law of 15 May 1946. Such sales are controversial for many reasons, not least of which is the provenance of many of these items. Selling these objects would remove them from the public eye and would also go against the wishes of those donating them to the museum in the first place. Soon afterwards, she sold the most famous of … Altmann is the niece of Bloch-Bauer, who died in 1925. Maria Altmann resided in Austria and belonged to a wealthy Jewish family. Causa Bloch-Bauer. – Schnabel, Gunnar and Monika Tatzkow. Nonetheless, the Austrian government retained ownership of the painting, and was not returned to the Altmann family until 2006 after a long court battle. However, he included a clause according to which his wealth should be handed over to his nephew Robert and his nieces Louise and Maria. But Maria Altmann had every faith she would prevail in her attempt to recover five Klimt paintings taken from her Jewish family by the Nazis in 1938. A portion of such proceeds was also used to establish the ‘Maria Altmann Family Foundation’ that backs several philanthropic as well as public institutions. https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/maria-altmann-13510.php Maria Altmann, the niece of Adele Bloch-Bauer with a reproduction of one of the two Klimt paintings that were stolen by the Nazis. Adele Bloch-Bauer was her aunt. – Austria acknowledged that the Klimt paintings belonged to the Bloch-Bauer heirs only fifty-eight years after Ferdinand Bloch-Bauer fled from the country. In 2005, Mrs Altmann reached an agreement with Austria to abandon the litigation process and instead resort to a binding arbitration. Reached an agreement with Austria why did maria altmann sell the paintings Nazi Germany, Ferdinand Bloch-Bauer to consider donating the Klimt paintings acknowledged. Elsen and Stephen K. Urice have restricted the ability of museums to get enough visitors to sustain.... 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