Portrait of Wally

An investigation into the fate of a single painting serves as an entrée into a dark cultural world in Andrew Shea's exceptional documentary. The work in question is the titular portrait that Austrian expressionist Egon Schiele painted of his mistress in 1912. In 1939, the painting was confiscated by a Nazi-affiliated dealer from its owner, Lea Bondi, and it wound up in the Austrian National Gallery after the war, but was soon purchased by Rudolf Leopold, becoming part of the private collection that formed the basis for the state-sponsored Leopold Collection, which opened in 2001. A celebrated legal case over its ownership arose in 1997, when it was loaned to New York's Museum of Modern Art and Bondi's heirs sued to regain possession. Museum officials worldwide argued that interfering with the painting's return to Austria could poison the common practice of loaning artworks across national lines, and the case resulted in a long period of litigation and a negotiated settlement. Using file footage, other archival material, and extensive interviews with many of the major players, Shea expertly covers each phase of the story, showing how the legal jockeying revealed the extent of Nazi plundering of European artworks—as well as the ways in which museums, while publicly mouthing high principles, have used dubious means to hold onto pieces that were stolen from Jewish owners. DVD extras include footage from a 2010 ceremony at the Museum of Jewish Heritage, and excerpts from Leopold's 2006 deposition about his acquisition of the painting. Highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek)