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Lauder speaks on art dispute
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February 20, 1998: 6:48 p.m. ET
Says paintings should be returned to Austria, rightful owners sought
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NEW YORK (CNN) - Ronald Lauder, chairman of the Museum of Modern Art in New York and former U.S. Ambassador to Austria, broke his silence on an international battle over two stolen works of art on Friday.
In an interview for CNN's "Pinnacle" program, Lauder said the Museum of Modern Art should return two famous Egon Schiele paintings once stolen by the Nazis. The paintings, "Portrait of Wally" and "Dead City III," were on loan from the Austrian government to the museum when the controversy over who rightfully owns the art broke at the end of 1997.
"In the case of the paintings that were not allowed to leave the United States, they should have gone back to Austria," said Lauder. "The Austrians [should] agree to a fair and open discussion about the two paintings and should see if they really did belong to the people who claim they belong to."
The paintings were set to be returned to Austria in January after the closing of the museum's Schiele exhibit. But a Jewish art dealer in Vienna asked the museum to hold on to the paintings, claiming that "Portrait of Wally" had been stolen by the Nazis from the dealer's family. The Manhattan District Attorney's office added its weight to the family's request and blocked the paintings' transport.
The interview was Lauder's first public statement on the issue.
His position is intricately related to the case as he is not only the chairman of MoMA but also serves as chairman of the International Public Committee of the World Jewish Restitution Organization, the arm of the World Jewish Congress set up to recover art stolen from Jewish families before World War II.
He is also the chairman of Estee Lauder International and other companies. He is the son of Estee Lauder, founder of the multibillion dollar cosmetics empire of the same name. 
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