Academy award winning actress Helen Mirren is to receive the World Jewish Congress Recognition award for her role in the acclaimed film Woman in Gold.

Dame Helen played Maria Aultmann, an Austrian American woman who won a legal battle against the Austrian government to reclaim six looted art works by Gustav Klimt that were stolen from her family.

Among them was the famous ‘Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I,’ nicknamed ‘Woman in Gold’ which was taken from the Aultmann family in 1938.

Dame Helen said she was “utterly moved” to be receiving an award for helping to educate the public about Nazi looted art.

“The WJC is an organisation that does such important work all over the globe in advocating for Jewish rights.
“And being part of this film and preserving Maria Aultmann’s legacy has been a truly exceptional experience from the start.”

The award is to be honoured by WJC president Ronald S Lauder in a ceremony in New York later this year.

Mr Lauder said: “The history of the ‘Woman in Gold’ painting exemplifies the immense suffering, painful loss and, for a prolonged period, the injustice that many Jews were subjected to during the 20th century.

“Thanks to Helen Mirren’s stunning performance, the international public will learn about this legacy which still hasn’t been addressed properly by many governments and museums.”