Legal Artistry by Andrew Grey Page B

the painting so important?” Gerald asked as he continued taking notes on the pad he'd pulled out of his bag.
    "Art scholars will always come up with reasons why one painting versus another is important. But I tend to believe that's a bunch of BS. In my opinion, a painting becomes important because it moves regular people. Some works of art are important because of their age, some because of technique and because they break new ground. I think this painting is important because it speaks to people and captures their attention, just like the Mona Lisa does. This painting is also important because the Austrian people have adopted the image as part of their identity. It was painted by an Austrian, hangs in an Austrian museum, and is widely regarded as one of the most important works of the early twentieth century.” Mark slipped off his stool and walked to the cabinet. Opening one of the doors, he pulled out a long tube of paper. Gerald watched as Mark tacked the top corners to a corkboard before unrolling it and placing tacks near the bottom.
    Gerald stared at the image, and he could see what Mark was talking about even from the poster. The image was amazing and so detailed. Standing up, he stared into the woman's beautiful face. Out of the corner of his eye, Gerald saw Dieter step forward, moving slowly, and it hit Gerald all at once. This wasn't a painting for Dieter, some abstract image of beauty—this was his great-grandmother, a relative. In essence, this was a family portrait, and Gerald turned his eyes away, because looking at this with Dieter seemed almost intrusive. Gerald swallowed and on reflex placed his hand on Dieter's shoulder. “We have to figure a way to get her back,” Gerald mumbled under his breath.
    "It's been widely known in artistic circles that the painting has a bit of a checkered past with its association with the Nazis. But many paintings in museums today do. The Metropolitan in New York recently returned paintings that had been in their collection for decades to the rightful owners once it had been proven they were looted art."
    "But those were in a US museum, and the museum returned the works on their own because it was the right thing to do. I don't see the Austrian government doing that,” Gerald said softly, his hand still resting on Dieter's shoulder.
    "Neither can I,” Mark agreed, both of them watching Dieter stare at the portrait. “You can take that if you like,” Mark added, and Dieter nodded before looking toward Gerald and then at Mark.
    "Thank you,” Dieter said softly, and Gerald let his hand fall away before taking down the poster for him and starting to roll it back up.
    "What is it? Why'd you stop?” Dieter asked, and Gerald looked up from where he'd been staring in near disbelief at the bottom of the poster. “Is something wrong?"
    "No,” Gerald said and began to roll the poster out on the table. “Have you got a magnifying glass?"
    "Tyler does out front. I'll get it.” Mark walked away as Gerald continued studying the poster, a smile forming on his face.
    "I'll explain in a minute, Dieter,” Gerald promised. “I just need to be sure of something.” Gerald could feel himself vibrating as Mark returned. Using the magnifying glass to enlarge the small print at the bottom of the poster, Gerald let out a whoop. “Yes! I think this is it."
    "What's it?” Dieter asked, leaning over the poster to take a look. Gerald handed him the glass and let him see what he was looking at. “I don't get it,” Dieter told him, setting down the magnifying glass.
    "It says at the bottom that the image is copyrighted by the Belvedere Museum and reproduced with their permission,” Gerald explained. “What it means is that the Belvedere made money on this poster, and since the Belvedere is owned by the Austrian government, they in essence made money on the sale of this poster."
    Dieter looked at him like he'd grown two heads. “I don't get it."
    "What it means for us is that the