"Maria Altmann was 88 when I first met her by phone in 2004. 'Would it be possible to call back in a few minutes?' she asked. 'I'm feeling a little dizzy and would like a cup of coffee to revive myself.'"

"'Of course,' I said, imagining Mrs. Altmann as a somewhat frail grandmother. Old she was, but frail she was not."

"This week, Mrs. Altmann's amazing and triumphant story comes to the big screen in Woman in Gold, a film about one of the great legal battles in art history. The movie, starring Helen Mirren and Ryan Reynolds, begins with the Nazi takeover of Austria in 1938. Newlyweds Maria Altmann and her husband are wealthy Jews fleeing for their lives, leaving her family's famous artworks behind."