Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06VIENNA323
2006-02-02 17:51:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Vienna
Cable title:
AUSTRIAN GOVERNMENT WILL NOT BUY BACK KLIMT
how-toVZCZCXRO5657 PP RUEHAG RUEHDA RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG DE RUEHVI #0323 0331751 ZNR UUUUU ZZH P 021751Z FEB 06 FM AMEMBASSY VIENNA TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2247 INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
UNCLAS VIENNA 000323
SIPDIS
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
STATE FOR EUR/OHI AND EUR/AGS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KNAR PHUM PGOV AU
SUBJECT: AUSTRIAN GOVERNMENT WILL NOT BUY BACK KLIMT
PAINTINGS
REF: VIENNA 136
UNCLAS VIENNA 000323
SIPDIS
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
STATE FOR EUR/OHI AND EUR/AGS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KNAR PHUM PGOV AU
SUBJECT: AUSTRIAN GOVERNMENT WILL NOT BUY BACK KLIMT
PAINTINGS
REF: VIENNA 136
1. (U) Austrian Education Minister Elisabeth Gehrer has
announced that the Austrian government will not buy back any
of the five Gustav Klimt paintings that an arbitration panel
decided to restitute to heirs of the original owner. Gehrer
made the announcement after the government's cabinet meeting
on February 2. According to Gehrer, the Austrian
government's right of first refusal, which an agreement
between the government and the heirs stipulated, expired on
February 2. Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel stressed that the
government had found it impossible to budget the 300 million
U.S. dollars necessary for the purchase.
2. (U) Gehrer explained that the government could only have
bought any of the paintings with the help of private
sponsors. However, she said, Randal Schoenberg, the lawyer
for the most prominent heir, Los Angeles resident Maria
Altmann, had told her the heirs were only willing to sell the
paintings directly to the Austrian government.
3. (U) The Austrian media quotes Schoenberg as "respecting"
and "understanding" Gehrer's decision. The media reported
Schoenberg as noting that some other Austrian bidders had
already contacted him, but stressing that the heirs are
considering "all options" for the sale of the paintings.
4. (SBU) Gehrer has come in for harsh criticism from the
opposition for her handling of the Klimt affair. However,
her ministry had said at the time of the arbitration panel's
announcement that the likely price of just the most prominent
of the paintings exceeded its annual cultural budget. The
Klimt paintings mean a lot to a good many Austrians, and
their disposition will have wide resonance.
McCaw
SIPDIS
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
STATE FOR EUR/OHI AND EUR/AGS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KNAR PHUM PGOV AU
SUBJECT: AUSTRIAN GOVERNMENT WILL NOT BUY BACK KLIMT
PAINTINGS
REF: VIENNA 136
1. (U) Austrian Education Minister Elisabeth Gehrer has
announced that the Austrian government will not buy back any
of the five Gustav Klimt paintings that an arbitration panel
decided to restitute to heirs of the original owner. Gehrer
made the announcement after the government's cabinet meeting
on February 2. According to Gehrer, the Austrian
government's right of first refusal, which an agreement
between the government and the heirs stipulated, expired on
February 2. Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel stressed that the
government had found it impossible to budget the 300 million
U.S. dollars necessary for the purchase.
2. (U) Gehrer explained that the government could only have
bought any of the paintings with the help of private
sponsors. However, she said, Randal Schoenberg, the lawyer
for the most prominent heir, Los Angeles resident Maria
Altmann, had told her the heirs were only willing to sell the
paintings directly to the Austrian government.
3. (U) The Austrian media quotes Schoenberg as "respecting"
and "understanding" Gehrer's decision. The media reported
Schoenberg as noting that some other Austrian bidders had
already contacted him, but stressing that the heirs are
considering "all options" for the sale of the paintings.
4. (SBU) Gehrer has come in for harsh criticism from the
opposition for her handling of the Klimt affair. However,
her ministry had said at the time of the arbitration panel's
announcement that the likely price of just the most prominent
of the paintings exceeded its annual cultural budget. The
Klimt paintings mean a lot to a good many Austrians, and
their disposition will have wide resonance.
McCaw