The heirs of Ferdinand Bloch-Bauer, who in 2006 recovered five Klimt paintings from the Austrian Gallery Belvedere in Vienna, had also claimed Klimt’s painting 'Portrait of Amalie Zuckerkandl', gifted to the Belvedere in 1988 by a private collector.
In May 2006 an arbitration panel granted ownership to the Republic of Austria. A dispute over the decision continues.
In September 2007 Vienna lawyer Dr Nikolaus Pitkowitz made a written contribution to the debate. His conclusion was that the decision by the arbitration panel against restitution of the painting to the Bloch-Bauer heirs was against Austrian public policy and should be set aside. Dr Pitkowitz's opinion is available here.
In April 2008 the Austrian Supreme Court rejected attempts by the heirs of Ferdinand Bloch-Bauer to correct the arbitration ruling denying the return of the Klimt painting “Portrait of Amalie Zuckerkandl” to them. Read the analysis of the case by their lawyer, E Randol Schoenberg here. The decision of the Court is available here.
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