One of Cornelius Gurlitt’s attorneys, Hannes Hartung, told the Wall Street Journal last week, and was again quoted in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung yesterday, that Gurlitt was open to possible resolutions to claims from heirs to the paintings found in his apartment in 2012. According to Hartung, Gurlitt is already in talks with heirs, and… Continue Reading
Monthly Archives: January 2014
Chabad Asks for Interim Judgment of $14.75 Million Against Russia for Defiance of Order to Return Rebbe’s Library
Posted in UncategorizedIt has been a year since the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia instituted a fine of $50,000 per day against the Russian Federation, the Russian Ministry of Culture and Mass Communications, the Russian State Library, and the Russian State Military Archive until they comply with a 2010 judgment to return the library… Continue Reading
Recap of Ersessene Kunst—Der Fall Gurlitt (Appropriated Art—The Gurlitt Case): January 26, 2014 in Heidelberg
Posted in Events, Gurlitt CollectionI’ve just returned from my presentation in Heidelberg at the Hochschule für Jüdische Studien in Heidelberg at the conference Ersessene Kunst—Der Fall Gurlitt; Appropriated Art—The Gurlitt Case. The presentations were, without exception, outstanding. They ranged from rarely-told case stories, to sharp insights of some of the overarching principles that guide the the Gurlitt case and… Continue Reading
Bankruptcy Court Denies Creditors’ Motion to Reappraise Detroit Institute of Arts Collection
Posted in Detroit BankruptcyAs we predicted when it was filed, Judge Rhodes of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Michigan denied today several creditors’ motion to appoint an independent commission to appraise the collection of the Detroit Institute of Arts (owned by the city of Detroit) as part of the city’s ongoing bankruptcy. The creditors’… Continue Reading
“Appropriated Art—the Gurlitt Case,” Heidelberg, Germany January 26, 2014
Posted in Events, Gurlitt CollectionThe Institute for Jewish Studies in Heidelberg (the Hochschule für Judische Studien Heidelberg) will host a one-day conference on January 26, 2014 entitled “Appropriated Art—The Gurlitt Case” (Ersessene Kunst—Der Fall Gurlitt). Leading academics, journalists, and researchers will put the Gurlitt find into a historical and legal perspective. As listed below, the depth of topics that… Continue Reading
Foundations Pledge $330 Million to Keep Detroit Institute of Arts Collection Safe from Liquidation
Posted in Detroit BankruptcyDetroit Emergency Manager Kevyn Orr’s plan to monetize the collection of the Detroit Institute of Arts, whether by sale or otherwise, took a large step towards realization today when at least nine local and national foundations pledged up to $330 million to Detroit to keep the collection of the Detroit Institute of Arts safe from… Continue Reading
Baltimore Museum of Art Wins Title to “Flea Market Renoir” Painting
Posted in Litigation, MuseumsThe Baltimore Sun reports that U.S. District Judge Judge Leonie Brinkema allowed the Baltimore Museum of Art’s motion for summary judgment at today’s hearing in Alexandria, Virginia. That means that the BMA is the owner of the painting, not claimant Martha Fuqua, who argued that she bought the painting at a 2009 flea market in… Continue Reading
Hearing Tomorrow on Baltimore Museum of Art Claims to “Flea Market Renoir”
Posted in Authentication, Litigation, MuseumsJudge Leonie Brinkema will hold a hearing tomorrow morning in Alexandria, Virginia on the Baltimore Museum of Art’s motion for summary judgment to claim ownership to an 1879 Renoir painting Paysage Bords de Seine that the museum maintains was stolen in 1951. Claimant Martha Fuqua filed a motion to strike the BMA’s reply to her… Continue Reading
Secret Witness Contradicted Hildebrand Gurlitt’s Claim to Monuments Men that His Art was Burned in Dresden
Posted in Gurlitt CollectionFrom Dresden to Aschbach to Düsseldorf—New Scholarship in U.S. Archives Traces Hildebrand Gurlitt at War’s End, Could Affect Cornelius Gurlitt’s Claim to Good Faith Ownership The Main Post has an article today (in German) by Christine Jeske tracing the late-war and post-war trajectory of Hildebrand Gurlitt and his now-infamous collection. The article is fascinating, and… Continue Reading
Bavaria Proposes Cultural Property Restitution Act, Heads to Berlin for Federal Approval
Posted in Gurlitt Collection, UncategorizedAs reported yesterday, the government of Bavaria has moved ahead with a proposal to amend the statute of limitations over art claims like those arising out of the Gurlitt find in Schwabing/Munich. The “Draft law for the exclusion of limitations on claims for misappropriated cultural property, particularly from the Nazi era (Cultural Property Restitution Law)”… Continue Reading
Bavaria to Review Draft Revision to Statute of Limitations on Claims to Art Found in Gurlitt Apartment
Posted in Gurlitt CollectionDie Welt reports today that a scheduled cabinet meeting of the government of Bavaria includes discussion of a draft revision to the state’s statute of limitations. Justice Minister Winfried Bausback (CSU) has apparently stated his desire to ensure that claimants like those heirs to owners of works found in Cornelius Gurlitt’s apartment will not be… Continue Reading
Flea Market Renoir Battle Focuses on the Hearsay Rule
Posted in Authentication, Litigation, MuseumsThe last remaining claimants for the 1879 painting by Pierre Auguste Renoir, Paysage bords de Seine that surfaced in the possession of a woman who claimed to have found it at a flea market, have filed summary judgment papers seeking final disposition of the case without need of a trial. The Baltimore Museum of Art has… Continue Reading
Stay Connected
Subscribe via RSS
Join Me on Facebook
View My Linkedin Profile
Follow Me on Twitter