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At the Westport Library on April 26, at 7: 30 p.m., mystery writer Jane Cleland will tell the remarkable, true story of 90-year-old Austrian-born Maria Altmann's fight to retrieve her family's art and other treasures stolen by the Nazis. The pilfered artwork made its way to top Nazis, including Goring and Hitler. A Nazi commander annexed the family's summer estate outside of Prague.
Cleland's talk describes Ms. Altmann's relentless efforts to reclaim these assets, which included an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court for the right to sue the Austrian government. Among the treasures that she ultimately won was Gustav Klimt's stunning 1907 portrait of her aunt, Adele Bloch-Bauer.
Jane Cleland, who's passionate about Ms. Altmann's story, also writes award-winning mysteries. Her running character, Josie Prescott, is a New Hampshire antiques dealer. Cleland herself was once an antiques and rare book dealer in New Hampshire. She now lives in New York and is a past president of the New York Chapter of the Mystery Writers of America. Her talk at the Westport Library is free.
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