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Tag Archives: Altmann v. Republic of Austria

Cassirer Heirs’ Claims to Pissarro Work Revived by Appeals Court, the Year 2013 Shows that the Tide for Restitution May be Shifting Again

By Nicholas O'Donnell on Posted in Foreign Sovereign Immunities, Gurlitt Collection, Restitution, World War II

The 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

327 Gurlitt Collection Works Now Known; Time for Claims in the United States?

By Nicholas O'Donnell on Posted in Foreign Sovereign Immunities, Gurlitt Collection

The coordination office in Magdeburg continues to post details about works of art seized from Cornelius Gurlitt in Schwabing, with a total of 327 works now available for viewing.  There has been almost no discussion yet, however, of what process the government will employ to allow claimants to make their case.  Those in the United… Continue Reading

Gurlitt Taskforce Announces Plan to Post 590 More Works. Choice of Law, Procedure, and Venue for Claims Up in the Air

By Nicholas O'Donnell on Posted in Gurlitt Collection, Restitution, World War II

Ingeborg 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

Merkel Hints at Putting Gurlitt Lists Online, Calls for Special Tribunal Are Made

By Nicholas O'Donnell on Posted in Gurlitt Collection, Restitution, World War II

Catherine Hickley reports from Berlin that the government of Chancellor Angela Merkel is looking into ways to put lists and/or photographs online concerning the Cornelius Gurlitt seizure of roughly 1,400 paintings with connections to Nazi looting.  This followed heavy complaints in the first days of the revelation, that the government had failed to identify what… Continue Reading

Paintings Targeted by the Nazis Found in Munich, Could be Biggest Discovery Since the War. What Now?

By Nicholas O'Donnell on Posted in Gurlitt Collection, Restitution, World War II

The German magazine Focus broke a story over the weekend that could be the biggest restitution news since Portrait of Wally or Altmann v. Republic of Austria: roughly 1,400 paintings were found in a Munich apartment that may have been seized, looted, or sold bought under duress by the Nazis in the 1930s as part… Continue Reading

Combining the Nazi Theft Exception in Senate Bill 2212 with Immunity from Seizure: Good Policy or Inconsistent Law?

By Nicholas O'Donnell on Posted in Foreign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Immunity Clarification Act, Foreign Sovereign Immunities, Immunity from Seizure Act, Restitution, Senate Bill 2212, World War II

Opposition to Senate Bill 2212, the Foreign Cultural Exchange Jurisdictional Immunity Clarification Act (a bill the Art Law Report favors in its frequent commentaries) has been renewed recently.  Senate Bill 2212 (already passed by the House of Representatives) would remove the mere display of a work of art in the United States as a satisfactory… Continue Reading