Art Trials: Ethics, Aesthetics, and Justice – ARTH 391E-JS
Due Date: March 16, 2015

Name: Eva Lox

Try not to copy the answers directly from the articles: you should answer these questions in your own words (whenever possible).

Factual Questions (2-3 sentences), 20 points:

1. What kind of legal precedent did Menzel v. List establish regarding the artifacts stolen/displaced during the Holocaust era and purchased later in good faith?

List filed a motion to set aside the verdict of returning the Chagall and being paid back. He included that the statute of limitation had run and that he was a purchaser in good faith. However because the US does not consider the Third Reich to be a foreign sovereign government, the Act of State Doctrine was not applicable. Finally List had to return the painting and Menzel was given back his money plus interest.

2. Who is Adele Bloch-Bauer and what was her connection to Gustav Klimt?

Adele Bloch-Bauer was the wife of Ferdinand Bloch-Bauer, a wealthy Jewish sugar manufacturer, who owned a major art collection in Vienna. She had numerous works of Gustav Klimt in that collection.

3. What kind of will did Adele Bloch-Bauer leave? How many paintings by Klimt did Adele Bloch-Bauer include in her will?

She left a written will that explained what she wanted to do with the Klimt paintings. There were six paintings included in her will.

4. Was her will legally binding? Explain.

Yes, the will said she wanted to give them to his husband and after his dead, she wanted the paintings to be donated to an Austrian museum. Which ended up happening even though her husband’s will said the exact opposite thing.

5. Why did the paintings in question end up in the Austrian museums?

Because according to the will of Adele, the paintings were supposed to go to an Austrian museum. And in the meantime they were temporarily under the supervision of Ferdinand. However when he died, even though he left a will stating that the paintings should not go to Austria, the museum took Adele’s will as the legal document that bind them to the paintings.

6. What is the export permit? What were the conditions for issuing the export permit for Bloch-Bauer heirs in 1948-49?
The export permit is a document granted by the Austria’s Federal Monument Agency in exchange of the donation of the art works. However Maria found out it was not a “donation” and decided to sue the state.

7. Who is Maria Altmann? What is her connection to these artworks?

She is the nephew of Ferdinand Bloch Bauer the former owner of the six Klimt paintings, which were taken from him by the Nazis and given to the Austrian National Gallery during the war.

8. What is the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act? Can one sue a foreign state?

It is an act enacted in 1976 that protects a state from being sued by an individual. “Foreign states are immune from the jurisdiction of both federal and state courts in the United States, with exceptions. Notable exceptions include the foreign state’s waiving its immunity and actions based on commercial activities”. However there were several reasons why the court ruled that it was the proper venue to exercise jurisdiction over this case. First the paintings were taken in violation of international law, second the painting were in possession of a foreign state and third the agent was engaged in commercial activity in the US.

9. How many Klimt’s paintings were restituted to Maria Altmann in 2006?

She was returned five out of six Klimt paintings.

10. What did Maria Altmann do with the paintings she received?

Maria auctioned them all to private collections. Except for one which a museum in New York purchased.