National Museum in Warsaw could lose holdings to claims of provinces

The National Museum in Warsaw (MNW) may lose many works of art acquired after World War II. Residents of Pomorze and Lower Silesia are demanding the return of works to museums in Gdansk and Wroclaw, respectively. "I am ready to take a middle course. If somebody demands ten altarpieces, we'll agree to five. Our museum will be impoverished, but it will still exist," says MNW head Ferdynand Ruszczyc. Whereas Wroclaw wants the return of a 15th-century altar to one of its cathedrals, Gdansk's Basilica of Saint Mary seeks a diptych dated from 1435. If all the claims are satisfied, the MNW collection could diminish by 40%. (Zycie, p.1 )A.Z.