Tracing an Object's Troubled History
For six years, beginning in 2000, Jewish refugee Maria Altmann fought the Austrian government in court, trying to reclaim five paintings by Austrian artist Gustav Klimt that were looted from her family by the Nazis just before World War II.
Altmann ultimately succeeded in her crusade—depicted in the 2015 film “Woman in Gold,” starring Helen Mirren—but her ordeal illustrates the need for museums, universities and other organizations that manage donations of art to be able to track the history of the items in their collections.
Enter DU’s Center for Art Collection Ethics (ACE), which promotes the ethical stewardship of works of art, antiquities and cultural materials.
