[MSN] FW: Austria sets up internet databank for art looted during Nazi era

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From: E. Randol Schoenberg [mailto:randols at bslaw.net] 
Sent: 17 October 2006 23:20
To: exiles; Art and Law People
Subject: Austria sets up internet databank for art looted during Nazi era



Austria sets up internet databank for art looted during Nazi era

dpa German Press Agency
Published: Tuesday October 17, 2006

Vienna- People who left behind artwork when they fled Austria during the
Nazi regime of 1938-1945, or had them stolen, as of Tuesday, trawl through
an internet database for their long-lost possessions. The National Fund of
the Republic of Austria for Victims of National Socialism, set up by the
Austrian government in 1995, compiled a databank of looted art on the
internet that is now accessible at http://www.kunstrestitution.at.

It contains several thousand objects of art that are in the possession of
state-run museums, galleries and other official institutions but which are
considered looted.

A virtual catalogue, organized in sections such as Prints, Painting or
Furniture, facilitates the search for stolen objects that are described in
great detail, often with photos. The location of the object and the
institution in charge of it are also listed.

The National Fund was tasked with investigating the origin of art of
uncertain origin owned by the state or official institutions, clarifying
questions of ownership and examining possible restitution to the owner of
their heirs.

While Austria had been initially very reluctant to tackle the restitution of
looted art, the issue gained momentum with the case of Maria Altmann, who
fought many years for the return of several paintings by Art Nouveau painter
Gustav Klimt.

Altman, who currently lives in Los Angeles, has been deemed the rightful
heir of five Klimt paintings, among them a world famous portrait of Adele
Bloch-Bauer, Altmann's aunt, that were on display at the Austrian Gallery in
Vienna.

C 2006 dpa German Press Agency