On December 13, 2013, the English language Austrian Times (
visit link) ran the following story:
"Secession museum defends ownership of Klimt frieze
By Maddy French
A 100 year old Gustav Klimt frieze on display at the Wiener Secession is at the centre of a legal dispute between the museum and heirs of the painting's former owner.
Klimt's masterpiece Beethoven's Frieze was looted from Jewish art collector Erich Lederer by the Nazi's in the late 1930s. After the war, Lederer tried for over two decades to have his beloved frieze exported to him in Switzerland but was unsuccessful because of an Austrian ban on exporting historic art that was at risk of deteriorating.
In 1973 Lederer, whose family had been close friends of Klimt and even modelled for him, agreed to sell the frieze to Austria for $750,000. It estimated value at the time was said to be around $2 million.
Now, the art collectors Swiss heirs have launched a claim to get the frieze back, arguing that the sale was forced at too low a price. The case comes just a few years after amendments were made to Austrian restitution law in 2009 to include property acquired at a discount price.
In recent weeks, the Secession has defended itself by releasing correspondences from the time of the sale that show Lederer thanking the then Chancellor Bruno Kreisky for taking on the case.
"I thank you ... for your friendly lines," Lederer said in a letter to Kreisky. The museum are also claiming Lederer voluntarily negotiated the price of the frieze.
Lawyer for the heirs Marc Weber has hit back, arguing that documents proved nothing and the painting had only been sold in the first place because Lederer had believed he would not succeed at exporting the frieze from Austria.
However, an art restitution expert from Vienna University's Art & Law research group has now come out in favour of the Austrian position, which gives an indication of what the outcome might be when a final official expert report on the situation is published next year. The final decision will be made by the Austrian Minister of Culture."