Stealing Klimt (2007)

Stealing Klimt recounts the struggle by 90-year-old Maria Altmann to recover five Gustav Klimt paintings stolen from her family by the Nazis in Vienna. From the end of the War up until last year, these paintings hung in the Austrian National Gallery. The film covers Maria's early life in glittering fin-de-siècle Vienna, her dramatic escape from Nazi terror and her courageous fight to recover the five Klimt's against all the odds. Maria's fight to reclaim the paintings eventually took her to the United States Supreme Court and pitted her not just against Austria but also against the US Government which asked the Supreme Court to reject her case. After Maria finally emerged victorious in 2006, one of the paintings - the "Golden Portrait" of Maria's aunt, Adele Bloch Bauer - was sold to cosmetics tycoon Ronald Lauder for $135m, becoming the world's most expensive painting ever sold. The other four paintings were recently auctioned at Christie's for record prices.

Date of release
2007-05-15
Runtime
1h 32m
Genres
Documentary
Director
Jane Chablani

Casting

Interesting facts

Stealing Klimt is a 2007 documentary film about Maria Altmann's attempt to recover five Gustav Klimt paintings, stolen from her family by the Nazis in 1938, from Austria. The story covers the 2004-'06 legal case of the Republic of Austria v. Altmann, which resulted in the Österreichische Galerie Belvedere being forced to hand over the five paintings to Altmann. One was sold and donated to the Neue Galerie New York; the other four were sold to private collectors.

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