61. ALTMANN never authorized Dr. Rinesch to negotiate on her behalf or to allow the AUSTRIAN GALLERY to obtain the Klimt paintings.  ALTMANN was not fully informed of these activities and proceedings until January 1999, when documents relating to the transfer of the Klimt paintings were released by the REPUBLIC OF AUSTRIA in connection with a review of the provenance of artworks obtained by the AUSTRIAN GALLERY in the post-war period.  Until 1999, ALTMANN mistakenly believed that the artworks had been freely donated by her aunt Adele and uncle Ferdinand to the AUSTRIAN GALLERY before the War.  She was unaware that the paintings were stolen from her uncle and that it was only through the unauthorized agreement of Dr. Rinesch in April 1948, purportedly made on her behalf, that the AUSTRIAN GALLERY had claimed ownership of the paintings.

62.  ALTMANN's mistaken belief was the result of the false statements made by the AUSTRIAN GALLERY to Dr. Rinesch, which were transmitted to ALTMANN's brother, Robert Bentley, in Vancouver, Canada, and later recounted to ALTMANN by her brother and other family members.  Furthermore, in numerous exhibits and publications concerning the Klimt works, the AUSTRIAN GALLERY had provided incorrect provenance information and had repeated the false claim that the artworks were donated by Ferdinand and Adele Bloch-Bauer to the museum on dates inconsistent with the true facts. 

63.  For example, in the book Gustav Klimt in the AUSTRIAN GALLERY Belvedere in Vienna by Dr. Gerbert Frodl, the current director of the AUSTRIAN GALLERY, it is alleged that the two paintings Adele Bloch-Bauer and Apple Tree I were obtained by the museum through a bequest of the Bloch-Bauer family in 1936.  The book also states that Adele Bloch-Bauer II was obtained from Ferdinand Bloch-Bauer in 1928. This provenance information is false, and is belied by numerous documents that are in the AUSTRIAN GALLERY's possession. The paintings were obtained in 1941-1943, during the liquidation of Ferdinand’s estate by the Nazis.

64.  Until the recent investigation prompted by the enactment of a new Austrian law in December 1998, however, ALTMANN had no reason to question these statements and did not know, and could not have known, the truth until documents evidencing these facts were released by the AUSTRIAN GALLERY and the Federal Monument Agency in 1999.

65.    ALTMANN’s brother Robert and sister Luise, both of whom died before 1999, also were unaware of the truth regarding Ferdinand’s Klimt paintings.  ALTMANN is informed and believes, and based thereon alleges that the heirs did not properly authorize Dr. Rinesch’s April 1948 agreement, and could not have learned of the truth before 1999. For his part, Dr. Rinesch probably believed that under the circumstances, and the duress imposed by the REPUBLIC OF AUSTRIA and the AUSTRIAN GALLERY, he was doing the best for Ferdinand’s heirs.  Indeed, Dr. Rinesch was relatively successful in securing the release of other artworks, largely as a result of his “donation” of the Klimt paintings. But this does not mitigate the fact that none of the heirs were fully informed of the underlying facts prior to his decision, and none of them properly authorized the “donation” of the Klimt paintings.