£170m Klimt Art For USA

A collection of paintings by Gustav Klimt, stolen by the Nazis in 1938, has been restored to its heir in California after an eight-year legal battle. The five works, together worth £170m, now belong to 90-year-old Maria Altmann, who fled the Nazis following the annexation of Austria. Altmann has lent the paintings to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art for a temporary exhibition. She hopes that the exhibition, which opens on April 4, will attract a buyer. "It didn't have to come to this," she said. "Seven years ago I wrote the Austrians a wonderful letter, saying that I would see to it the portraits would not leave Austria, and they never even bothered to answer me. Well, I guess they're sorry now." For the full story - click the title Irish Art