When Ferdinand Bloch-Bauer fled Austria to escape the Nazis in 1938, he left behind a painting of his late wife, Adele. Sixty years later, Gustav Klimt’s Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I found itself at the center of a legal battle to restore ownership to Bloch-Bauer’s niece, who argued the painting had been seized by the Nazis and rightfully belonged to the family, not the Austrian government.
Helen Mirren stars in Woman in Gold as Maria Altmann, who not only gained ownership of the painting, but later sold it for a then-record $135 million. The portrait is now the centerpiece of New York’s Neue Galerie.
Woman in Gold debuts on April 3. (May it be a more compelling take on the restoration of Nazi-seized art than The Monuments Men.)
More Must-Reads From TIME
- Why Cell Phone Reception Is Getting Worse
- The Dirty Secrets of Alternative Plastics
- Israeli Family Celebrates Release of Hostage Grandmother
- We Should Get Paid for Our Online Data: Column
- The COP28 Outcomes Business Leaders Are Watching For
- The 100 Must-Read Books of 2023
- The Top 100 Photos of 2023
- Want Weekly Recs on What to Watch, Read, and More? Sign Up for Worth Your Time