On Tuesday, January 9, 2018, beginning at 2:00 p.m., the Friends of Odell Public Library will present the story of Adele Bloch-Bauer. Her husband commissioned the painter Gustav Klimt to paint a portrait of Adele when she was 25. This painting became the famous “Woman in Gold.” The film focuses on her niece Maria Altmann, played brilliantly by Helen Mirren, and her search and struggle to reclaim the painting from the Austrian government.
Maria is the daughter of a wealthy Jewish family, which includes her adored Aunt Adele. She often visited her aunt and uncle and remembered the house filled with paintings and elegant furniture. It was open to artists and writers of the time. However, the world came to know her aunt from the 1907 Klimt painting, which depicted Adele in a swirling gown within a blaze of gold rectangles, spirals, and Egyptian symbols.
Maria Altmann was left with only memories of the painting. It and others were stolen when the Nazis took over Austria in 1938. Not only was the painting stolen, but the gift of Aunt Adele’s diamond earrings and necklace given to Maria on her wedding day by her uncle. Maria’s husband, Fredrick, was taken to Dachau concentration camp, but was released.
The couple was under house arrest until Maria managed to elude the guards, by claiming Fredrick needed a dentist. The two escaped to the Dutch border and ultimately came to California.
For many years, Maria fought the Austrian government to reclaim “Woman in Gold” from Vienna’s Austrian Gallery, but they delayed and delayed, hoping she would die. So, stay alive she did and triumphed!
She and her lawyer argued as far as the United States Supreme Court, saying the case should be heard in America, and they won. In 2006 the painting arrived in Los Angeles, CA, with great fanfare. At the time, it was the largest single return, in monetary terms, of Nazi-looted art.
“Woman in Gold” is a powerful testament to a powerful, determined woman and the power of the Amerian system of justice.