"Germany Rejects Call for End to Restitution of Nazi-Looted Art" raises the issue of Holocaust-era art restitution. The upcoming "Holocaust Era Assets Conference" in Prague on June 26-30 2009, will of course also deal with the very same thing.
New York’s Museum of Modern Art meanwhile, filed a complaint along with The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum over other Holocaust-era artwork, in Schoeps v. The Museum of Modern Art, et. al., Index No. 1-07-CV-11074. In Schoeps, the museums asserted their complaint for declaratory relief against the heir of the original owner of the two Picassos, “Boy Leading a Horse” & “Le Moulin de la Galette”. Based on the complaint, this particular heir had no valid claim to the Picassos, which the museums respectively possessed. This was allegedly true because a February 8, 1935 German will mentioned that the Picassos’ original owner had given the PIcassos as a wedding gift to his wife in 1927.
Mr. Schoeps contrarily asserted via his amended counterclaim attached hereto at part 1, part 2 & part 3, that the original Jewish owner had never actually made a 1927 gift of the Picassos. The amended counterclaim alleged that the Nazi-era provenance of the Picassos was highly suspect. As an heir of the Picasso’s original owner, Mr. Schoeps argued that he was entitled to restitution of the Picassos. As a museum press release and Bloomberg.com however mentioned, the case was settled and Mr. Schoeps agreed to permit the two museums to keep the Picassos.
(Last edited October 21, 2010)
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