Museum to pay $5 million for stake in Schiele work

[May 11, 2011]  VIENNA (AP) -- An Austrian museum says it will pay $5 million to the granddaughter of a Jewish woman for her stake in an Egon Schiele painting seized by the Nazis.

The painting -- "Houses by the Sea" -- belonged to Jenny Steiner whose assets, including art, were confiscated by the Nazis in 1938. In 1941, it was bought by Josefine Ernst at an auction in Vienna. Her son sold it fourteen years later to the late Rudolf Leopold, who is credited with assembling Austria's largest and most important private art collection.

The Leopold Museum Private Foundation said Wednesday that Steiner's granddaughter, whose name has not been released, holds a one-third stake in the painting and thanked her for her efforts during settlement talks.

[Associated Press]

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.