The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York has dismissed the much-publicized claims by Leone Meyer against the University of Oklahoma and related Oklahoma public officials and insitutions for the return of La bergère rentrent des moutons by Camille Pissarro, currently in the Fred Jones, Jr. Museum of Art. In full disclosure: I… Continue Reading
Category Archives: Restitution
Subscribe to Restitution RSS FeedGreat-Nephew May Challenge Gurlitt Will and Appointment of Kunstmuseum Bern as Sole Heir, Second Will is Confirmed
Posted in Gurlitt Collection, Restitution, World War IIWhen news first broke that Cornelius Gurlitt had named the Kunstmuseum in Bern as his sole heir (and not merely as the recipient of his art collection), we wondered whether some putative heir to Gurlitt—and thus to at least part of the art collection under suspicion for containing Nazi-looted art—might challenge that appointment. We did… Continue Reading
Gurlitt Bequest to Kunstmuseum Bern: German Language Analysis Roundup
Posted in Gurlitt Collection, Restitution, World War IIDiscussion continues to swirl about how the passing of Cornelius Gurlitt this week will affect the review and possible return of the paintings found in his Munich apartment, and those in Austria. Not surprisingly, the majority of reflections on the news that Gurlitt appointed the Kunstmuseum in Bern, Swizterland as his sole heir are in… Continue Reading
Gurlitt Names Kunstmuseum Bern as Sole Heir. Will the Museum Want Everything that Comes with That?
Posted in Gurlitt Collection, Museums, Restitution, World War IIFollowing confirmation by his attorney that Cornelius Gurlitt had left a will, it was further revealed yesterday that Gurlitt had not merely left his collection of paintings with substantial Nazi-looting questions to a museum outside Germany, but that he had named the Kunstmuseum Bern itself as his sole heir. The Kunstmuseum is the oldest museum… Continue Reading
Foreign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Immunity Clarification Act Passes House of Representatives Overwhelmingly
Posted in Foreign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Immunity Clarification Act, Foreign Sovereign Immunities, Immunity from Seizure Act, Restitution, Uncategorized, World War IIThe Foreign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Immunity Clarification Act (HR 4292) passed the House of Representatives yesterday, 388 to 4. Voting against were Reid Ribble (R, WI), Mark Sanford (R, SC), Marlin Stuzman (R, IN), and Justin Amash (R, MI). As discussed here previously, the bill would amend the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, 28 U.S.C. §… Continue Reading
Cornelius Gurlitt Passes Away, Questions Remain About Recent Deal and Fate of Collection
Posted in Gurlitt Collection, Restitution, World War IICornelius Gurlitt died yesterday, six months after his art collection was revealed to the world in a Focus article, and less than a month after striking a deal with Bavarian prosecutors over the 1,280 paintings and works of art seized from his apartment as part of a tax investigation. Although that brings the investigation that… Continue Reading
The Gurlitt Deal—Prosecutor Gives Collection Back, Agreement Leaves Questions About Process and Transparency
Posted in Gurlitt Collection, Restitution, World War IIThe Augsburg prosecutor for the State of Bavaria announced today that in connection with Monday’s agreement with Cornelius Gurlitt, the 1,280 works of art seized from Gurlitt’s apartment in 2012 have been “returned” to Gurlitt. Though it does not appear that the objects have physically changed locations, the state officially lifted the seizure, and now… Continue Reading
Breakthrough? Gurlitt Signs Agreement with Germany For Continued Research and Commits to Return of Art
Posted in Gurlitt Collection, RestitutionWhether Austrian Trove is Included So Far Unmentioned In Reports of Agreement On the heels of last night’s “60 Minutes” treatment of the Gurlitt saga (which featured Willi Korte and Ingeborg Berggreen-Merkel, two participants at January’s Ersessene Kunst-Der Fall Gurlitt at which I also spoke), news has come today that Cornelius Gurlitt has signed an agreement… Continue Reading
Foreign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Immunity Clarification Act Passes House Judiciary Committee on Voice Vote
Posted in Foreign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Immunity Clarification Act, Foreign Sovereign Immunities, Immunity from Seizure Act, Restitution, World War IIJust a week after it was introduced by Steve Chabot (R-OH), the Foreign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Immunity Clarification Act (HR 4292) was marked for hearing today. Three members spoke in favor, a voice vote was taken, and bill was referred favorably to the full House. Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) began the hearing with a statement. … Continue Reading
Foreign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Immunity Clarification Act Reintroduced in House of Representatives, Would Ban Use of Exhibition Loan as Basis for Federal Court Jurisdiction
Posted in Foreign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Immunity Clarification Act, Foreign Sovereign Immunities, Gurlitt Collection, Immunity from Seizure Act, Restitution, Senate Bill 2212, World War IISteve Chabot (R-OH) has reintroduced the Foreign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Immunity Clarification Act (H.R. 4292), after a previous attempt to amend the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act with regard to the loan of cultural objects failed to become law in 2012. The text of the March 25, 2014 bill is identical to the version that passed… Continue Reading
Gurlitt Can’t Get His Story Straight About Salzburg Trove
Posted in Gurlitt Collection, Restitution, World War IIAs confusion swirls around Cornelius Gurlitt’s actual plans, one of the issues is that his team is not speaking consistently with one voice. In particular, there are odd developments about the artworks that Gurlitt himself had removed from his Salzburg home in February—oddities that are worth weighing when considering the recent public statements about his… Continue Reading
Gurlitt Art Return Click-Bait and Switch—Don’t Get Fooled by Headlines
Posted in Gurlitt Collection, Restitution, World War IIIt was hardly surprising that news that Cornelius Gurlitt was willing to return artworks taken from his apartment in 2012 that had once been taken from Jews spread quickly. What is regrettable is how quickly the headlines seem to have gone viral that he is going—or even willing—to return all of the paintings. Nothing that… Continue Reading
Gurlitt “Wants” to Return “All Pictures Stolen or Looted from Jewish Possession”—But Stolen According to Whom?
Posted in Gurlitt Collection, RestitutionChristoph Edel, lawyer and guardian for Cornelius Gurlitt, told the Süddeutsche Zeitung today that his client wants to return “all pictures stolen or looted from Jewish possession.” Although this has set Twitter and the Internet ablaze with the news, the statement deserves careful scrutiny in light of Gurlitt’s strategy over the last two months. The… Continue Reading
Limbach Advisory Commission Recommends Against German Restitution of “Guelph Treasure,” Focuses on Terms of 1929 Agreement for Intended Sale
Posted in Gurlitt Collection, Restitution, World War IIOne of the issues exposed and exacerbated by the ongoing Gurlitt collection stalemate is the question of Germany’s restitution procedures with respect to art. As the Bavarian legislative proposal to abolish the statute of limitations for claims against bad-faith acquirers is considered by the Bundestag, the “German Advisory Commission for the Return of Cultural Property… Continue Reading
Art Law This Week at the City Bar: “Copyright Fair Use: The Importance of Being Transformative” and “Hot Topics in Art Law 2014”
Posted in Authentication, Consignment, Copyright, Fair Use, RestitutionLooking forward to two great art and law events this week at the New York City Bar, both at 42 West 44th Street. Hope to see many of you there! On Tuesday March 11, 2014 from 6:30-8:30 p.m., Judith Prowda, faculty at Sotheby’s Institute and author of Visual Arts and the Law will mediate a… Continue Reading
U.S. Again Asks Court to Ignore Russian Defiance of Chabad Judgment, and for Advance Notice to Hinder Plaintiffs’ Exercise of their Rights
Posted in Foreign Sovereign Immunities, Immunity from Seizure Act, RestitutionIn response to the recent request by the Agudas Chasidei Chabad plaintiffs for an interim judgment on the compounding sanctions judgment for the Russian Federation’s refusal to comply with a 2010 judgment to return the ancestral library of the movement’s leader (Rebbe), the United States has filed a statement of position and asked the U.S…. Continue Reading
Germany Itself Exhibited in the United States Dozens of Works from Hildebrandt Gurlitt in 1956
Posted in Gurlitt Collection, Restitution, World War IIThere have been occasional references during the Gurlitt affair to the possiblity that some of the paintings seized from Hildebrand Gurlitt’s apartment had been exhibited in the United States. Details have been sparse. With a copy of the out-of-print catalogue from that exhibition now in hand, however, we can start to identify the scope of… Continue Reading
The Gurlitt Counteroffensive Continues: Complaint Filed for Return of Paintings
Posted in Gurlitt Collection, Restitution, World War IIAccording to multiple news reports and his attorneys, Cornelius Gurlitt has filed a complaint for the return of the paintings seized in 2012 by the Augsburg prosecutor. Copies are not yet available, but the Gurlitt PR website www.Gurlitt.info” has a release that states as follows (thus far only in German). Stay tuned for developments if… Continue Reading
“Gurlitt Facts” Website Posted as Part of Public Relations Offensive, Arguments Strain Credulity
Posted in Gurlitt Collection, Restitution, World War IICornelius Gurlitt’s legal team has posted a new website called “Gurlitt Info” in similar (but not identical) German and English versions that is so contradicted by the repeated disclosures by the German government, that it is hard to imagine its intended purpose. As a public relations move, it is a disaster. The tactic may explain… Continue Reading
Cassirer Heirs’ Claims to Pissarro Work Revived by Appeals Court, the Year 2013 Shows that the Tide for Restitution May be Shifting Again
Posted in Foreign Sovereign Immunities, Gurlitt Collection, Restitution, World War IIThe U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit restored last week claims by heirs of Lilly Cassirer against the Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection for the return of the Camille Pissarro painting Rue St. Honoré, après-midi, êffet de pluie. The Cassirers claim that the painting was expropriated from Lilly when she fled Nazi Germany in 1939 in exchange… Continue Reading
Gurlitt Vows to Fight for Art Collection, Possible Limitations Under German Law Still Unclear. Does Austria Have Say?
Posted in Gurlitt Collection, Restitution, World War IIDer Spiegel conducted a face to face interview with Cornelius Gurlitt that was published over the weekend, addressing his intentions about the 1,400 artworks connected to Nazi looting. Most striking was Gurlitt’s declaration with regard to the artworks seized by Bavarian tax authorities “I will give nothing back willingly.” The highlights of the interview, available… Continue Reading
New York Court of Appeals Rejects a “Spoils of War” Doctrine in Flamenbaum
Posted in Restitution, World War IIThe New York Court of Appeals has decisively rejected the argument that a nation may acquire good title to a work of art by virtue of that work’s status as the “spoils of war,” an important holding that will affect future restitution claims brought under New York law. From the Court of Appeals: The Vorderasiatisches… Continue Reading
Gurlitt Taskforce Announces Plan to Post 590 More Works. Choice of Law, Procedure, and Venue for Claims Up in the Air
Posted in Gurlitt Collection, Restitution, World War IIIngeborg Berggreen-Merkel, leader of the newly formed federal “Schwabing Art Find” taskforce, announced plans to release information about 590 additional works found in the apartment of Cornelius Gurlitt, after the posting earlier this week of 25 works at www.lostart.de. Meanwhile, the heirs of Max Ernst have publicly disclosed (through their attorney Jürgen Wilhelm in Cologne)… Continue Reading
REMINDER Restitution and Repatriation: the Return of Cultural Objects at DePaul University November 14, 2013
Posted in Cultural Property, Events, Restitution, World War IIA reminder of this Thursday’s event, all the more timely as the Gurlitt collection fallout continues: DePaul University College of Law Center for Art, Museum & Cultural Heritage Law will host a symposium on November 14, 2013 entitled “Restitution and Repatriation: the Return of Cultural Objects.” A similar conference could not be held last year because… Continue Reading
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