Art and Judaica Looted by Nazis from Jews Still Largely Unidentified; Review of 50 Countries Shows Little Progress Despite International Pacts

repost from http://www.claimscon.org/2014/09/looted-art-update/

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Claims Conference/WJRO Calls for International Association of Provenance Researchers

Claims Conference President Julius Berman announced that a new report shows that 15 years after the first international agreement regarding restitution of Nazi-era looted art, most countries have made little progress toward returning stolen cultural items to their rightful owners. A survey of 50 countries by the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany (Claims Conference) and the World Jewish Restitution Organization (WJRO) shows that two-thirds of the nations that have endorsed agreements regarding research, publicity and claims for Nazi-era looted art have done little or nothing to implement those pacts. Read more

Can A Jewish Man Imprisoned In Dachau Concentration Camp Transfer Valid Legal Title To A Schiele Painting?

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Egon Schiele’s Seated Woman With Bent Left Leg (1917)

On October 31, the family of Fritz Grunbaum gathered at the Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial To The Holocaust to thank former District Attorney Robert Morgenthau for his efforts to recover Egon Schiele’s Dead City III, an artwork he seized on behalf of Grunbaum’s family at the MoMA in 1998.

Mr. Morgenthau, referring to the above drawing, read the following from a concurrence written by Judge Edward Korman when he sat by designation on  a case called Bakalar v. Vavra at the Second Circuit Court of Appeals:

Grunbaum was arrested while attempting to flee from the Nazis. After his arrest, he never again had physical possession of any of his artwork, including the Drawing. The power of attorney, which he was forced to execute while in the Dachau concentration camp, divested him of his legal control over the Drawing. Such an involuntary divestiture of possession and legal control rendered any subsequent transfer void.
Bakalar v. Vavra, 619 F.3d 136, 148 (2d. Cir. 2010)(concurrence)

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Ein offener Umgang mit ungeklärten Provenienzen macht sich bezahlt

IKG

 

Wien (OTS, 06.11.2014 13:34) -Das Ergebnis der gestrigen Versteigerung des Schiele-Aquarells “Stadt am blauen Fluss” aus der Sammlung Fritz Grünbaum ist deutlich höher als der ursprüngliche Schätzwert und zeigt wie stark der Markt auf eine Absicherung im Falle ungeklärter Provenienz reagiert. Die Einigung zwischen Einbringer und Erben hat das Käuferinteresse wesentlich erhöht, konnte das Bild doch nun als unbestreitbares Eigentum erworben werden. Das Ergebnis bestätigt die Vorgangsweise von Christies, diese Einigung zwischen beiden privaten Parteien herzustellen.

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Erwiderung zur Presseaussendung der Sammlung Leopold

Am 01.11. erschien eine Presseaussendung des Leopold Museum:

Leopold Museum-Privatstiftung (ver)wehrt sich gegen Raubkunst-Vorwürfe

Darin behauptet das Museum, die Restitutionsforschung des BMUKK hätte eindeutig festgestellt, das die Sammlung Grünbaum nicht als Raubkunst zu bezeichnen sei.

Dies ist die Sicht des Leopold Museums, doch was sagen andere Stellen dazu? Read more

New York Times: Dispute Over Nazi Victim´s Art

The similarities between two art works being auctioned next month by Christie’s and Sotheby’s in New York are striking. Both were created by the Austrian Expressionist Egon Schiele. And both once belonged to FritzGrünbaum, a Viennese cabaret performer whose large art collection wasinventoried by Nazi agents after he was sent to the Dachau concentration camp, where he died.But there is also a notable difference in the way the houses are handlingthe sales. Read more

Presseaussendung Fritz Grünbaum: Die arisierte Sammlung

NewYork/ Wien (OTS) – Am 5.11.2014 kommt bei Christie’s in New York das Gemälde von Egon Schiele Stadt am blauen Fluss (Krumau) mit einem Schätzwert zwischen $ 800.000-$ 1,2 Millionen zur Versteigerung. Grundlage der Versteigerung war eine einvernehmliche Teilung des erzielten Auktionspreises zwischen den aktuellen Besitzern und den Erben des im Konzentrationslager in Dachau während der Nazizeit ermordeten Fritz Grünbaum.

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Press release: Nazi art looting restitution settlement agreement leads to Christie´s auction of a rare artwork

New York, NY (MMD Newswire) October 16, 2014 – Christie’s auction house today announced the upcoming November 5 evening Impressionist and Modern auction of Town on the Blue River (1910) an extremely rare watercolor landscape by the Austrian artist Egon Schiele (1890-1918). The auction is the result of the successful resolution of a restitution settlement agreement with the estate of Fritz Grünbaum, a Viennese Jewish cabaret performer in (1880-1941) who died in the Dachau Concentration Camp.

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(Not) On Display in London: Artworks Stolen From Fritz Gruenbaum

Update:

Soon after writing this blog entry an e-mail arrived:

 

Dear Mr Dowd,

It has been brought to my attention that an item concerning loans to The Courtauld Gallery’s forthcoming Egon Schiele exhibition has been placed on a website for which you are listed as one of the contacts. On that basis I am writing to you to let you know that the three works mentioned there are not due to form part of the exhibition in London.

Yours sincerely,

Ernst Vegelin

 

Ernst Vegelin van Claerbergen

Head of The Courtauld Gallery

 

The heirs of Fritz Grünbaum would like to thank Mr. Vegelin very much for  promptness and proficiency in handling this matter.
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