By Laura Wides
ASSOCIATED PRESS

3:58 p.m. May 18, 2005

LOS ANGELES – A woman seeking the return of nearly $200 million worth of paintings stolen from her family after the Nazis invaded Austria has agreed to arbitration with the Austrian government, her lawyer said Wednesday.

Maria Altmann, an 89-year-old widow from Los Angeles, has fought since 1998 to reclaim six Gustav Klimt paintings from the Austrian government, including a colorful, gold-infused portrait of her aunt.

Advertisement"I am feeling very good about the whole thing because it was dragging on and dragging on," Altmann said. "We are finally seeing an end, and I hope a happy end. I am very pleased that things can be solved in a friendly and peaceful way."

The two sides began mediation in March following the U.S. Supreme Court's decision last year that Altmann could sue the Austrian government.

Her attorney, E. Randol Schoenberg, said mediation could begin as early as next month and a decision was expected in November.

Martin Weiss, Counsel General for Austria, said his government was pleased with the agreement and glad to see the legal process return to Austria's jurisdiction.

"There are a lot of happy faces around the table today. It's an agreement all sides can view as fair."

The case stems from a 1998 law passed in Austria that required federal museums to review their holdings to see if they included works looted by the Nazis and to find out whether the works were obtained by the museums without remuneration.

The Nazis seized the paintings from Altmann's wealthy Jewish family, including works that now hang in the Austrian Gallery, soon after they came to power in Austria in 1938.

Austria contends rightful ownership of the paintings, because Altmann's aunt, Adele Bloch-Bauer, asked that the art be donated to the government gallery before her death in 1925.

But Altmann's uncle, who died in exile in Switzerland in 1945, specified that his possessions should go to Altmann and two other family members. Altmann is the only one of the three still living.

Schoenberg says that the family relinquished rights to the paintings in 1948 only in exchange for Austria's release of other art works that belonged to them.

He said he first approached Austria about arbitration in 1999 but was rebuffed. He attributed the change of heart to the Supreme Court's decision, issued over the objections of the Bush administration which said it would hurt diplomatic relations.

Scott Cooper, a Los Angeles attorney representing the Austrian government, said that offer "was two litigations and a long time ago." He said the Austrian government had always sought to resolve the dispute in Austria.

The case will be decided by three arbiters, one picked by each side, and the third chosen by the other two. The decision will be binding

Among the paintings, the gold-encrusted "Adele Bloch-Bauer I" is one of Klimt's most famous pieces. It is similar in style to his world-renowned painting, "The Kiss."

"It's literally priceless," said Jane Kallir, co-director of the Galerie St. Etienne in New York City, which introduced Klimt to the United States in 1959.

Asked about Austria's feelings on the potential loss of works by one of its most world-renowned artist, Weiss replied, "Whatever the situation is, the situation is. The most important thing is that we have a clear-cut decision that will come speedily and everyone will embrace."