April 20, 1998

Wildenstein family, one of art world's wealthiest and most powerful dynasties, begins campaign to clear its name and to validate its ownership of eight medieval manuscripts being claimed by another French Jewish family; heirs to estate of Alphonse Kann say manuscripts were looted by Nazis and erroneously returned to Wildensteins after war; Wildenstein family has for decades ignored rumors of its complicity with Nazi forces occupying France in World War II; it has had change of heart about addressing charges because of recent wave of negative publicity; Wildensteins have even sought outside help, from Rubenstein Associates Inc, public relations company, and from legal expert, Richard K Bernstein (M)

Detroit Tigers defeat New York Yankees, 2-1; photo (M)

Architects and developers putting up new apartment buildings in New York City or restoring old ones are opting for the look that was prevalent in the city before World War II; zoning laws and a new appreciation of limestone classicism of pre-war era are factors in trend; photo of St Moritz Hotel, which is being transformed into Trump Pinnacle condominiums; drawing of Trump Pinnacle shows it almost identical to St Moritz (M)

Museum of Fine Arts in Boston will mount exhibit of eight recent paintings by David Hockney; Jewish Museum of New York City will mount exhibit of work of French painter Chaim Soutine; British music of 20th century will be focus of Lincoln Center event, A Philharmonic Celebration: Variations on a British Theme; photos (M)

American retail stores find that Internet, touted as great electronic bazaar, is not successful venue for them; few if any are making money on Web; only 15 percent to 20 percent of sales figures for electronic commerce goes to on-line sites of conventional retailers; most retailers are still struggling to decide how to use medium--or whether they belong on line at all; Sheri Wilson-Gray, Saks Fifth Avenue's executive vice president of marketing, says Saks's brief exposure on Web convinced her that cyberspace is not conducive to selling high-priced, high-touch goods they specialize in; merchants finding most success at selling on line tend to be those that exist only on line; these companies have advantages of knowing quirks of electronic commerce, and being small and agile enough to adapt to shifting on-line technologies and demographics; photo (M)