[MSN] Austria. An exhibit at a Vienna museum displaying art alleged to have been looted by the Nazis has added fuel to the debate over the restitution of stolen art.

[MSN]

Display of alleged Nazi-looted art causes stir in Austria
Last Updated: Monday, March 3, 2008 | 5:48 PM ET
CBC News

An exhibit at a Vienna museum displaying art alleged to have been looted by
the Nazis has added fuel to the debate over the restitution of stolen art.

Clemens Jabloner, the president of the Administrative Court, one of the
three highest courts of the Austrian judiciary, believes they should be
returned to their rightful owners.

"On principle, everything of dubious origin should be returned," Jabloner
told the Agence France Presse.

The alleged stolen artworks, which are on display at the Leopold Museum in
Vienna, have prompted the opposition Green Party to call for the paintings
to be restored to their previous owners. The party has dubbed the exhibition
"the greatest display of looted art in Austria in years."

The head of Vienna's Jewish Community, Ariel Muzicant, called for the
closure of the Leopold Museum last week until it complies with legislation
on the restitution of looted Jewish property.

Austria passed the Art Restitution law in 1998 after a U.S. court seized two
Egon Schiele paintings - apparently stolen from Jewish art collectors during
the Second World War - from an exhibit in New York.
However, the law only applies to federal collections, and private museums
aren't subject to the same legislation. The Leopold Museum is categorized as
a private foundation, even though it was bought by the Austrian state in
1994.

The renowned museum, founded by Rudolf Leopold, owns some 5,000 artworks,
including masterpieces by Klimt and the largest collection of Schiele
paintings and sketches in the world.

Muzicant has asked that the law be modified to apply to private
institutions.

The exhibition at Leopold Museum features over a dozen works of questionable
origin, including those of Tyrolean painter Albin Egger-Lienz, an important
Austrian artist in the 20th century.

One of the paintings was a 1910 painting of two peasants, stolen from Jewish
architect Oskar Neumann and presented by the local Nazi leadership to Adolf
Hitler on his birthday in 1939.

Austria's annexation by Germany on March 12, 1938, led to the systematic
looting of Jewish property and assets, many of which were subsequently found
in national public collections.

However, 82-year-old Leopold, who sees himself as "the greatest Austrian
collector of the 20th century" has always denied knowingly acquiring stolen
Jewish objects.

"Works bought legally and in good faith should be able to remain in
Austria," he told the weekly magazine Falter, adding that heirs were "only
interested in money."

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Austria's law has enabled the restitution of thousands of artworks,
including five major paintings by Gustav Klimt - four of which were
auctioned off in New York in 2006 for more than $188 million Cdn.
With files from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation