$300 Million Klimt's Rejected

The Austrian government broke off negotiations to buy five paintings by Gustav Klimt, stating that they could not afford the $300 million price tag. The cabinet agreed to restore the paintings, currently housed in Vienna, to the rightful heirs. A court ruled last month that the works, seized in 1938 by the Nazis, should be returned to Maria Altmann of California, a descendant of the Jewish Bloch-Bauer family. "The decision against buying the paintings, which count among the most significant Austrian artworks, is an immense loss for Austria as a cultural center," said the national gallery's director. Irish Art