I recently tackled the public discussion in Germany about whether to rename the Stiftung Preussischer Kulturbesitz, the foundation that oversees the State Museums of Berlin and some of the most remarkable collections in the world. Readers of the Art Law Report will know this name well, the SPK is the defendant in the lawsuit brought by my clients for the restitution of the Welfenschatz, or Guelphe Treasure, that the Supreme Court heard in 2020. While I've never been shy about criticizing the SPK about its approach in our our case (which is on appeal, briefs here and here), this piece addresses a different question. Namely, what place does the name "Prussia" have in the 21st century? For anyone like me who still thinks about the historical sliding doors of the Grossdeutschelösung and Kleindeutschelösungdebate of the 19th century about how to unite the German-speaking states and duchies, this piece is for you.
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Topics:
Holy Roman Empire,
Prussia,
"Elephant Mural",
Martin Luther,
Stiftung Preussischer Kulturbesitz,
Sueddeutsche Zeitung,
Hermann Goering,
Der Spiegel,
Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation,
Andy Warhol,
Welfenschatz,
Humboldt Forum,
C. Montgomery Burns,
Claudia Roth,
Siam,
Sigismund of Luxembourg,
Friedrich VI,
Hohenzollern,
Brandenburg,
Kaliningrad,
Augustus II the Strong,
Nefertiti,
Pergamon Altar,
Annalena Bärbock,
Monika Grütters,
Götz Aly,
Joseph Beuys,
Königsberg,
Nazism,
Konrad Adenauer,
Hermann Parzinger,
Luf Boat,
Bild
Robin Pogrebin at the New York Times has written an excellent piece on the news that the Brooklyn Museum intends to sell several works from its collection to raise money. The museum explicitly relies on the pandemic-inspired announcement in April by the Association of Art Museum Directors (AAMD) relaxing its industry guidance (and pausing sanctions) with regard to the proceeds of the sale of art and how the resulting proceeds should or should not be used. The parallel announcement by a Syracuse museum that it intends to sell a Jackson Pollock painting in a manner more consistent with the old rules provides an instructive moment to consider what has really changed in six months of a new era.
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Topics:
The Art Newspaper,
Jackson Pollock,
Deaccessioning,
Boston Globe,
Association of Art Museum Directors,
Lucas Cranach the Elder,
New York Times,
AAMD,
Berkshire Museum,
Apollo Magazine,
Brooklyn Museum,
Robin Pogrebin,
Syracuse University,
Anne Pasternak,
Lucretia,
Courbet,
Corot,
Red Composition,
Lisa Simpson,
Donato de’ Bardi,
NY Board of Regents,
Jeff Jacoby,
C. Montgomery Burns,
Royal Academy of Arts
