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| By: Associated Press |
| Published: February 8, 2006 |
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An Austrian publisher on Tuesday urged the country's citizens to donate $24 each to buy back a famous Gustav Klimt painting looted by the Nazis set to be returned to a California woman.
Hubertus Czernin told the Austrian daily Der Standard that if 5 million Austrians participated in the fundraising campaign, they could come up with the necessary cash to buy back the gold-flecked "Adele Bloch-Bauer I," which has been widely replicated on souvenirs.
Its value is estimated at $120 million.
Last month, an arbitration court ruled that five Klimt paintings, including the "Adele", must be returned to Maria Altmann, of Beverly Hills. Austria had hoped to find a way to buy back the paintings, but officials conceded last week they could not afford to.
Czernin said the fundraising campaign would be run by newspapers, banks, the state broadcaster ORF and non-governmental organizations. Once the painting is bought back, Czernin said it would be loaned to Vienna's Belvedere Gallery where it was displayed for decades and considered a national treasure.
Austria's decision to give up the artworks represents its costliest concession since it began returning valuable art objects looted by the Nazis. The cultural property return law was enacted in 1998.
Altmann, 89, a retired clothing boutique operator, was one of the heirs of the Jewish family that owned the paintings before the Nazis took over Austria in 1938.
Although she waged a seven-year legal battle to recover them, she also made clear that she preferred the works to remain on public display rather than disappear into a private collection.
Czernin said he was convinced Altman would welcome his buy back proposal. To raise enough money, 60 percent of Austrians would have to participate, he said. |
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