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Tag Archives: WWII

German Museums Join in Demands for More Information About Gurlitt; Links to the Amber Room Theorized; Dix Painting Was Not Unknown

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

Der Spiegel reports today (link in German) about how German museums are joining the chorus of frustration about the lack of information about the Hildebrand and Cornelius Gurlitt collection find.  From this perspective, this development is not a surprise.  I was speaking to an international law class last night at Sarah Lawrence College, and one… Continue Reading

Focus Turns to Hildebrand Gurlitt’s Postwar Interrogation; Cornelius Gurlitt’s Whereabouts. Belvedere Official Questions Whether Collection Was Really a Secret

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

  The focus has turned today on the whereabouts of the mysterious Cornelius Gurlitt, who is unaccounted for as the biggest restitution story since the end of World War II unfolds.  Asked if it was even known if Gurlitt was still alive Bavarian prosecutor Reinhard Nemetz would not even comment. There is an explosive claim… 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

Does The Art World Have a Russia Problem?

By Nicholas O'Donnell on Posted in Uncategorized

Several overlapping issues in recent months have turned what was an awkward elephant in the room into a major issue facing the art world today.  Namely: the increasing role that Russia is playing in restitution, loans and exhibition controversies has aggregated to Vladimir Putin an extraordinary amount of influence over these major international legal issues. … Continue Reading

DC Circuit Reinstates All Claims that Were Dismissed in Herzog Case Against Hungary-UPDATED

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

The DC Circuit Court of Appeals has reinstated the entire set of claims brought by the Herzog heirs against the Hungarian National Gallery, the Budapest Museum of Fine Arts, the Museum of Applied Arts, and the Budapest University of Technology and Economics.  The appellate decision focuses on the claim that an agreement was reached after WWII… Continue Reading