Klimts’ future

RE “Portrait of a Cultural Battle,” by Christopher Knight, April 4: Art philosophy schmilosophy. Are you kidding me? Art is a commodity -- always has been, always will be. Art is an investment. People acquire it for that reason.

Maria Altmann has deservedly had the Klimt paintings returned to their rightful family. Yippee. She has the perfect right to act as she sees fit with the works of art.

Simple moral rules apply. If your art pieces are stolen from you and then decades later appear in “lost and found,” they should be returned to you. It’s that easy. Philosophy is not necessary here; in fact, it’s very secondary.

STEVEN W. BATZ

Los Angeles