Woman in Gold, a National Treasure or a Family Portrait?

It definitely was a timely release for the fascinating true story of the movie Woman in Gold in our area during this month of Holocaust Remembrance Day. 

Maria Altmann

Classy Helen Mirren does an excellent job portraying Maria  Altmann who fights the Austrian government for artwork confiscated from her family during  World War II.  Mrs. Altmann's lawyer nephew with no art restitution experience, Randol Schoenberg, accompanies his Aunt to demand the return of the famous Klimt painting of his great great aunt Adele Bloch Bauer referred to as the Woman in Gold.

After a bit of googling I discovered that the case actually took 10 years to resolve ending in the U.S. Supreme Court in 2007. Of course I don't want to spoil the movie for you and despite mixed reviews here's a 2 thumbs up for an important piece of history to unravel a not so uncommon story that has needed to be told for a long, long time.  In many cases restitution is still ongoing...