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Monday, 09 March 2015 11:37

An Austrian Panel Rules Against Returning Klimt Painting to the Heirs of Its Original Owners

Gustav Klimt's 'Beethoven Frieze.' Gustav Klimt's 'Beethoven Frieze.' Wikimedia Commons

One of Gustav Klimt's most famous paintings should not be returned to the heirs of its original Jewish owners, an Austrian panel has ruled.

The "Beethoven Frieze" was looted by the Nazis but returned to the family of Jewish industrialist August Lederer after World War Two.

But it was subject to an export ban.

The heirs had argued this forced Lederer's son Erich to sell the work at a cut-rate price. The museum where it is now on display disputed this claim.

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