Austria agreed to arbitration over paintings allegedly looted during the Holocaust era. After more than five years of court battles over the ownership of six paintings, valued at $150 million, the Austrian government and Maria Altmann of Los Angeles have agreed to submit the case to binding arbitration. At stake are paintings by Viennese artist Gustav Klimt from the early 20th century, including a famous portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer. She was a member of a prominent Jewish family in Vienna and Altmann’s aunt. Altmann, 89, had taken the case up to the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled that Austria could be sued in an American court. The three-person Austrian arbitration panel, which includes one person named by each side, is to render a decision by Nov. 1.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
