Nov 2018: Apple Tree II by Gustav Klimt was one of 300 works included in the exhibition
Gustav Klimt: Artist of the Century at the Leopold Museum in Vienna (until 4 November)
organised for the centennial of the artist’s death. It was loaned by the Fondation Louis
Vuitton in Paris, established by the luxury goods mogul and art collector Bernard Arnault.
On 22 June, the day the show opened, the Leopold Museum announced that it would not
be showing the painting, saying in a statement: “Seeing as this artwork is currently the
subject of a dispute between several people and institutions, which has not yet been
resolved, the Leopold Museum has decided not to show the painting. The dispute was
caused by the fact that while the painting was restituted by the Republic of Austria 18 years
ago, it has recently transpired that a mistake was made with the decision to return this
work.” The painting has since been returned to Arnault’s foundation.
Part of the problem is due to a confusion of two paintings: Roses under Trees from 1905,
and Apple Tree II from 1916. The first painting was the property of Viktor Zuckerkandl and
part of the collection of the Purkersdorf Sanitorium in Vienna, a gathering place for
Viennese literati. Klimt painted several portraits of Zuckerkandl’s wife, Amalie.
https://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/austria-returns-wrong-klimt-to-wrong-family