Two of the most valuable works from the Cornelius Gurlitt collection, Woman with a Fan, (1923) by Henri Matisse, and Two Riders on a Beach (1901) by Max Liebermann, will be returned to the families of their original owners. “Thankfully Gurlitt liked our Liebermann and kept it prized on his wall,” says Mr. Matteis, the lawyer representing David Toren, heir to the Liebermann work. (more…)
Despite a vocal commitment to the return of Nazi-looted works to the proper owners by French culture minister Aurélie Filippetti, the French government has taken few steps towards a faster, more efficacious practices towards stolen works. While over half of the over 100,000 works stolen from the country during the war have been recovered, a low percentage of works have found their way back to their original owners, which Filippetti blames on “the deaths of the victims and their direct descendants, and not because of a lack of will on the part of museums.” (more…)
A new book focusing on the life of Joseph Beuys is seeking to debunk the artist’s revered position in the German art canon, profiling him as intimately connected with past Nazis and Nazi sympathizers, as well as a devotee of some of the racially charged teachings of Rudolf Steiner. Some of Beuys’ friends and co-workers have already responded: “”Beuys was a great artist” says filmmaker Oscar Roehler, “the greatest we had. But he was a big jester who made fools of people, and judging him politically would be to whittle him down.” (more…)
The French government has validated claims to seven works of art taken from Jewish owners during World War II, and has promised to return them. The works include Henri Matisse’s Le Mur Rose, de l’Hôpital d’Ajaccio, and will be returned to Tom Seldorff, the 82-year old grandson of original owner Richard Neumann. This is incredibly rare. It’s the largest number of paintings we’ve been able to give back to Jewish families in over a decade,” said Bruno Saunier of the National Museums Agency. (more…)
The heir to Jewish art dealer Alfred Flechtheim is pushing the German government for a decision on a pair of paintings by Paul Klee and Juan Gris that he claims were sold to Nazi collectors under duress. Flechtheim’s great-nephew, Mike Hulton, claims that there is sufficient evidence to prove his claims, but he is currently being challenged by the Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen. “We are asking for late justice. My aged stepmother Penny and I are very disappointed and somewhat puzzled — we hope this emotionally stressful and difficult situation will come to an end soon.” Hulton says.
