World Jewish Congress (WJC) President Ronald S. Lauder presented Academy Award® winner Helen Mirren with the WJC Recognition Award for her role in the movie ‘Woman in Gold’ at a special event at New York’s Neue Galerie. The WJC Recognition Award honors outstanding individuals working on behalf of the Jewish people.
The event, which featured remarks by Mirren and Lauder, celebrated the actress’ portrayal of Maria Altmann, an Austrian-American woman who made headlines with her legal battle against the Austrian government to reclaim five Gustav Klimt paintings – including the famous ‘Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I,’ nicknamed ‘Woman in Gold’ – that were stolen from her family by the Nazis during World War II.
In 1938, the painting was among the works forced from their rightful owner, Adele’s widower Ferdinand, because he was Jewish. Following its restitution to Maria Altmann in 2006, it was acquired by Ronald Lauder and is now on display at the Neue Galerie in Manhattan.
“Being a part of this film and preserving Maria Altmann’s legacy has been a truly exceptional experience from the start,” said Helen Mirren. “I am utterly moved to receive this award from the World Jewish Congress, an organization that does such important work all over the globe in advocating for Jewish rights.”
“The history of the ‘Woman in Gold’ painting exemplifies the immense suffering, painful loss and, for a prolonged period, the injustice that many Jews were subjected to during the 20th century,” said Lauder. “With the opening of this new movie, audiences can learn about the second half of the Nazi-looted art story: the postwar art grab by governments and museums that willfully continued the Nazi theft, both by hiding the art from the rightful owners or their heirs and by fighting the victims in court to keep the artworks.
“Thanks to Helen Mirren’s stunning performance – which really electrified this issue – the international public will learn about this legacy of World War II which still hasn’t been addressed properly by many governments and museums.”
The WJC, which represents Jewish communities in 100 countries around the world, has played a pivotal role for decades advocating for Holocaust-era restitution around the world and led the efforts for the return of Nazi-looted art.
Photo: Shahar Azran
