While the incomparable Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown and illustrated by Clement Hurd does not take place in Dresden, that is where today brought news of a robbery at the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden, the State Art Collections that house the treasures of the Free State of Saxony. Specifically, two thieves broke into the Grünes Gewölbe—the Green Vault—which holds the rarest objects of all. Headlines understandably honed in on monetary values in the hundreds of millions or even billions, but these objects are, in fact, priceless. It is a horrifying crime against a rich cultural heritage in an historic city.
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Topics:
Holy Roman Empire,
Dresden,
DDR,
Gemäldegalerie Dresden,
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Theft,
Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden,
East Germany,
Tashkent,
Paris Court of Appeal,
Goodnight Moon,
Anne Hawley,
House of Wettin,
Augustus the Strong,
Zwinger,
Frauenkirche,
Rezidenzschloss,
Fürstenzug,
Gottfried Semper,
Grünes Gewölbe,
Margaret Wise Brown,
Clement Hurd,
Residenzschloss,
Green Vault,
Thomas Crown affair,
Bond villain,
Marion Ackerman,
Michael Kretschmer,
Free State of Saxony,
Freistaat Sachsen,
Electorate of Saxony,
Thirty Years War,
Schatzkammer,
Wittelsbach,
GDR
Sophisticated Analysis of Adolph von Menzel Drawing Distinguishes Itself from Recent Revisionism Elsewhere
As the original term of the Gurlitt Task Force (Taskforce Schwabinger Kunstfund) winds down, the panel has issued a report on a work that it deems appropriate for restitution: Interior of a Gothic Church (Inneres einer gottischen Kirche) by Adolph von Menzel (pencil drawing, signed/dated 1874). The drawing has been called Church in Hofgastein in some English language articles.
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Topics:
Interior of a Gothic Church,
Hildebrand Gurlitt,
Cornelius Gurlitt,
Nazi Germany,
Inneres einer gottischen Kirche,
Dresden,
Gurlitt Task Force,
Adolph von Menzel,
Nazi-looted art,
Gurlitt Collection,
Ernst Julius Wolffson,
Washington Principles on Nazi-Looted Art,
Advisory Commission,
Munich,
Albert Martin Wolffson,
Salzburg,
Restitution,
Catrin Lorch,
Bavaria,
World War II,
Switzerland,
Süddeutsche Zeitung,
Austria,
Kunstmuseum Bern,
Federal Republic of Germany,
Raubkunst,
Taskforce Schwabinger Kunstfund,
Elsa Helene Cohen,
Limbach Commission,
Jörg Häntzschel
A conference was held last week at the Oskar Reinhart Museum in Winterthur, Switzerland, entitled “Fluchtgut: Geschichte, Recht und Moral” (Flight Goods: History, Law and Morality). The objective conference was described in its program as follows (my translation):
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Topics:
Expressionist,
Esther Tisa Francini,
Allied Collecting Points,
Südkurier,
Auctions,
Florian Weiland,
Oskar Reinhart Museum,
Dresden,
Karl Schmidt-Rotluff,
Nazi-looted art,
Robert Graetz,
Buchholz Gallery,
German Advisory Commission for the Return of Cultu,
Winterthur,
Entartete Kunst,
Beratende Kommission,
Curt Valentin,
Restitution,
Melissa Müller,
Luzern,
Clara Levy,
Farm in Dangast,
Fluchtgut: Geschichte Recht und Moral,
Lucas Elmenhorst,
Luxembourg,
Looted Art,
World War II,
Lucerne,
Switzerland,
degenerate art,
Handelsblatt,
Lost Lives Lost Art Jewish Collectors Nazi Art The,
Galerie Fischer,
Imke Gielen,
Washingtoner Prinzipien,
Jutta Limbach,
Washington Principles,
Drei Grazien,
Flight Goods: History Law and Morality,
Lovis Corinth,
Monika Tatzkow,
Three Graces,
Bavarian State Painting Collections,
Raubkunst,
Hans Posse,
Limbach Commission,
Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen
I’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 similar events. As the discussions made clear, this case will not be easily resolved. That in turn makes recent reports that Cornelius Gurlitt has indicated a willingess to discuss the art's return all the more significant.
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Topics:
Maria Altmann,
Leopold Reidemester,
Ministerin für Justiz und Kultur,
Stuttgart,
Das Alte Schauspielhaus,
Cologne,
Irina Alter,
Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer,
veschollene Kunst,
Focus,
Schwabinger Kunstfund,
Aschbach Castle,
Mussolini,
Wiedergutmachung,
Annette Weber,
Monte Cassino,
Cornelius Gurlitt,
Corinna Budras,
S. Lane Faison,
Breslau,
Universität Heidelberg,
Augsburg,
Aryanization,
Anat Feinberg,
Willi Korte,
Schwabinger Kunstfund. Kunstfund München,
Monuments Man,
Jud Süss,
Wrocław,
Dresden,
Gurlitt Task Force,
Germany,
Silesia,
Fall Gurlitt,
Wallraf-Richartz Museum,
Köln,
Nazi-looted art,
Henry Keazor,
Gurlitt Collection,
Appropriated Art the Gurlitt Case,
Schloss Aschbach,
Die Welt,
Kurpfälzische Museum Heidelberg,
Hochschule für Judische Studien Heidelberg,
Karl Haberstock,
Eberhard Karls-Universität Tübingen,
Emily Löffler,
CSU,
Williams College,
Hildebrand Gurlit,
Entartete Kunst,
Universität Zürich,
Arisierung,
Lehrstuhl für Römisches Recht und Privatrecht,
Württemberg,
Schlesien,
Nürnberger Institut,
Hamburg,
Otto Förster,
Rückgabe,
Beutekunst,
'Stürmer-Bibliothek',
Magdeburg,
Portrait of Amalie Zuckerkandl,
Ersessene Kunst,
Katja Terlau,
Art Loss Recovery Unit,
Jim Tobias,
Hermitage,
Gurlitt,
Bavaria,
Johannes Heil,
Wien,
Sullivan & Worcester LLP,
Lucas Elmenhorst,
Events,
Kunsthistorisches Institut,
Nürnberg,
Jüdisches Museum Frankfurt,
Looted Art,
„Sturmer-Library“,
degenerate art,
Seminar für Neuere Geschichte,
Wolfgang Ernst,
Justizminister,
Göring,
www.lostart.de,
Nazi art,
Raubkunst,
Nicholas M. O'Donnell,
Frieder Hepp,
Verjährung,
Vienna,
Claudius Krausharr,
Münchner Kunstfund,
Zwickau,
Kajetan Mühlmann,
New York,
Werner Haftmann,
FAZ Frankfurt,
Felicitas Heiman-Jellinek
From 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 sheds considerable light on how the collection came through the war and how Gurlitt evaded greater scrutiny that might have revealed the trove’s whereabouts earlier. It also puts into context any claim Cornelius Gurlitt might now have to argue he took possession of the paintings from his father unaware of their provenance—what will be a critical argument, particularly if yesterday’s Cultural Property Restitution Law proposal by Bavaria becomes federal law in German.
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Topics:
Wiesbaden,
Cultural Property Restitution Law,
veschollene Kunst,
Franken,
Franconia,
Hildebrand Gurlitt,
Cornelius Gurlitt,
George Clooney,
Erik Berger,
Augsburg,
Dresden,
Nuremberg,
Fall Gurlitt,
Monuments Men,
Gurlitt Collection,
Karl Haberstock,
Kunstverein,
Entartete Kunst,
Munich,
Heiner Dikreiter,
Beutekunst,
Freiherr Gerhard von Pölnitz,
Bavaria,
Kulturgut-Rückgewähr-Gesetz,
Nürnberg,
Düsseldorf,
Schlüsselfeld,
Monuments Fine Arts and Archives,
Gemäldegalerie Dresden,
Christine Jeske,
Walter Paech,
degenerate art,
Städtische Galerie,
München,
Main Post,
Karl and Magdalene Haberstock Foundation,
Raubkunst,
Verjährung,
Nazi Raubkunst,
Aschbach
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 of the students asked me what the reaction in Germany would be. My feeling was that sooner rather than later, the German museum community, and likely the federal government, will push for a forward-looking solution. Present-day Germany takes questions about the Holocaust quite seriously, and for this collection to have turned up in Germany is sparking an embarrassment that could lead to more decisive action. The problem right now seems to be that everyone is waiting for someone else to make the first move.
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Topics:
Jeu de Paume,
unbekannte Meisterwerke,
February 13 1945,
FAZ,
Focus,
Hildebrand Gurlitt,
Dresden firebombing,
Max Fisher,
Cornelius Gurlitt,
S. Lane Faison,
Linz Führermuseum,
Munich Central Collecting Point,
Monopol,
Wiesbaden Collecting Point,
Dresden,
HARP,
Reinhard Nemetz,
Max Liebermann,
WWII,
Monuments Men,
Gurlitt Collection,
Max Beckmann,
Otto Dix,
Degenerate Art: The Fate of the Avant-Garde in Naz,
Auktionshaus Lempertz,
Entartete Kunst,
Fine Arts and Archives Program,
Nazis,
Marc Chagall,
Organisation Todt,
Paul Klee,
Entdeckung verschollener Kunst,
beschlagnahmte Bilder,
Dresdner Bank,
Belvedere,
Fritz Todt,
Holocaust Art Project,
Hamburg Kunstverein,
MFAA,
Roberts Commission,
Angela Merkel,
Restitution,
Wien,
Monuments Fine Arts and Archives,
Selbstporträt,
World War II,
degenerate art,
Erben,
Raubkunst-Bildern,
Portrait of Wally,
Washi,
Löwenbändiger,
Austria,
Franz Marc,
Oskar Kokoschka,
Washington Principles,
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner,
München,
Pablo Picasso,
Dr. Herman Voss,
Museums,
Kristallnacht,
Riders on the Beach,
Hans Posse,
Nazi Raubkunst,
Vienna,
Alfred Weidinger,
Henri Matisse,
Self Portrait,
Emil Nolde
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Topics:
Jeu de Paume,
unbekannte Meisterwerke,
February 13 1945,
FAZ,
Focus,
Hildebrand Gurlitt,
Dresden firebombing,
Max Fisher,
Cornelius Gurlitt,
S. Lane Faison,
Linz Führermuseum,
Munich Central Collecting Point,
Monopol,
Wiesbaden Collecting Point,
Dresden,
HARP,
Reinhard Nemetz,
Max Liebermann,
WWII,
Monuments Men,
Gurlitt Collection,
Max Beckmann,
Degenerate Art: The Fate of the Avant-Garde in Naz,
Auktionshaus Lempertz,
Entartete Kunst,
Fine Arts and Archives Program,
Nazis,
Marc Chagall,
Organisation Todt,
Paul Klee,
Entdeckung verschollener Kunst,
beschlagnahmte Bilder,
Dresdner Bank,
Belvedere,
Fritz Todt,
Holocaust Art Project,
Hamburg Kunstverein,
MFAA,
Roberts Commission,
Angela Merkel,
Restitution,
Wien,
Monuments Fine Arts and Archives,
World War II,
degenerate art,
Erben,
Raubkunst-Bildern,
Portrait of Wally,
Washi,
Löwenbändiger,
Austria,
Franz Marc,
Oskar Kokoschka,
Washington Principles,
Ernst Ludwig Kirchner,
München,
Pablo Picasso,
Dr. Herman Voss,
Kristallnacht,
Riders on the Beach,
Hans Posse,
Nazi Raubkunst,
Vienna,
Alfred Weidinger,
Henri Matisse,
Emil Nolde
