Ruth Ann Kalish, Ph.D. , is a member of Temple Beth Shira, and a Producer of the upcoming film, The Portrait of Adele

The Portrait of Adele is an upcoming feature documentary film capturing the extraordinary efforts of Stuart E. Eizenstat and a group of unsung heroes who became the catalyst that produced a sea change in the world of Holocaust-Era Restitution.

Adele Bloch-Bauer I by Gustav Klimt, purchased for a stunning $135 Million in 2006, bore witness to some of the most extraordinary events of the last one hundred years. Filmmaker and Director, Malcolm Clarke is a two-time Academy Award winning Producer and 16 time Emmy Winner. Since the return in 2006 of Adele Bloch-Bauer I and four other Klimt paintings to the sole-surviving Bloch-Bauer heir, the painting has become a symbol for the return of Holocaust-Era Assets.

The Portrait of Adele will focus on this ground-breaking case as a spring board to examine a myriad of restitution claims for the return of art systematically plundered and looted by the Nazis. The film will high light the growing number of objects that have finally been returned to their rightful owners and those yet to be returned that are making international headlines every week.
On April 4th, Ruth made a presentation to the congregation describing how film is taking shape and the events that form the back drop of this dramatic documentary, of hidden Swiss bank accounts, insurance claims, looted gold and stolen art, and of the pursuit of justice and its enduring legacy in Jewish, American, and World History.