Category: Allgemein

Video: D.A. Bragg announces Return of Seven Pieces of Nazi-Looted Art_Live Record of the Ceremony

Seven important works of art by Egon Schiele were ceremoniously handed over to the heirs of Viennese cabaret artist Fritz Grünbaum on September 22nd, 2023. The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office calls the act a crucial milestone in one of the longest-running Holocaust restitution cases in the art world.
The ceremony to return the artworks to the heirs of Fritz Grünbaum, who was murdered in the Dachau concentration camp in 1941, took place in the office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg, in whose jurisdiction the case lies.

Find the Press release:
Here in German / Here in English

OTS: Seven works from the Grünbaum Collection restituted in New York

Hier finden sie die deutsche Version

Lawsuit against the Republic of Austria has been filed in New York. Will the Albertina and the Leopoldmuseum follow the example of the American museums and voluntarily restitute 12 paintings?

Vienna/New York (OTS) – Seven important works of art by Egon Schiele were ceremoniously handed over to the heirs of Viennese cabaret artist Fritz Grünbaum on Wednesday afternoon. The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office calls the act a crucial milestone in one of the longest-running Holocaust restitution cases in the art world.
The ceremony to return the artworks to the heirs of Fritz Grünbaum, who was murdered in the Dachau concentration camp in 1941, took place in the office of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg, in whose jurisdiction the case lies.

“This is of enormous importance in our world,” stressed Timothy Reif, one of the Grünbaum heirs, referring to the descendants of Holocaust victims who have been demanding the return of looted property for nearly 80 years. “It sets the tone and agenda for all future cases. For more than a quarter of a century, the Grünbaum heirs have been fighting for the return of various Schiele works. These demands, which have led to civil suits in the courts, are closely followed in the art world.”

The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office took up the case in December 2022 after a New York civil court ruled in 2018 that Fritz Grünbaum had not sold or returned any of his works before his death, meaning his heirs were the legitimate owners. Prosecutors were able to present evidence that the seven works had passed through the hands of a Manhattan dealer, claiming legal jurisdiction. This time, however, was different: several museums and collectors contacted by prosecutors agreed to return the Schiele works to the heirs after being told they had stolen property.

The seven works voluntarily returned were owned by three museums – the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA), the Morgan Library & Museum, both in New York, and the Santa Barbara Museum of Art in California – as well as two collectors, Ronald S. Lauder, president of the World Jewish Congress and a longtime advocate of Holocaust restitution, and the estate of Serge Sabarsky, a well-known art collector. An eighth work from Sabarsky’s estate was previously returned to his heirs.

“Fritz Grünbaum was a man of incredible depth and spirit, and his memory lives on through the artwork that is finally being returned to his relatives,” Bragg said in a statement. “I hope this moment can serve as a reminder that despite the horrific death and destruction at the hands of the Nazis, it’s never too late to recover some of what was lost.”

This has also brought the issue of the paintings from the Grünbaum Collection held by the Austrian museums Albertina and Leopold Collection back to the center of restitution policy.
The heirs of Fritz Grünbaum have brought suit in the Southern District Court in New York against the Leopold Museum, the Albertina, and their legal or de facto owner, the Republic of Austria, for a declaration of ownership and restitution of the following works by Egon Schiele:

1. Dead city III (1911) (P.213)
2. Self-portrait with grimace (1910) (D.705)
3. Standing man with red scarf (1913) (D.1420)
4. Red blouse (1913) (D.1394)
5. Embracing nudes (1914) (D.1606)
6. Intertwined nudes (1912) (D.1147)
7. Seated girl with yellow cloth (1913) (D.1278)
8. Devotion (1912) (D.1418)
9. Standing girl with orange stockings (1914) (D.1488)
10. Self-portrait as penitent (1911) (D.942)
11. Aunt and nephew (1915) (D.1797)
12. Seated female nude on red cloth (1914) (D.1504)

The Austrian representative of the heirs after Fritz Grünbaum, Herbert Gruber, comments:

“It is astonishing in this context that none of the defendants’ representatives contacted the representatives of the heirs of Fritz Grünbaum in any form to find an out-of-court solution. The Republic of Austria hired one of the most expensive lawyers in New York with an hourly fee of USD 2000 in any case, and this despite the disastrous results in looted art cases such as Klimt’s “Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I”, also called “Golden Adele”.”

Mediakit (German/English)


Enquiries:
Austrian legal representative of the heirs after Fritz Grünbaum:
Mag. Michael Pilz
Telephone: +43 (0)1 406 05 51
Email: michael.pilz@jus.at

American legal representative of the heirs of Fritz Grünbaum:
Raymond J. Dowd
Phone: +1 212 682 8811
Email: rdowd@dunnington.com

A monument for Fritz Grünbaum

by Richard Weihs (* October 6, 1956 in Wels), an Austrian author, musician and actor, with a focus on Viennese dialect.

A commonplace that is probably popular at all times says that any cabaret, no matter how satirically exaggerated, is always far outdone by real existing politics. And the true story of the naming of a small square in Vienna-Mariahilf after the great cabaret artist Fritz Grünbaum seems to me to confirm this thesis quite vividly.It was in the spring of 1979 when I protested with hand-painted posters against the planned development of a large plot of land on the Linke Wienzeile. In such a green-poor residential area, I thought (and later thousands of other residents of Mariahilfer), the construction of a public park would be much more urgent.

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Nach dem US-Urteil: Grünbaum-Schieles werden an die Familie restituiert

Das bahnbrechende Urteil des Obersten US-Gerichtshofs zur Restitution der beiden Schielewerke wurde am 24.Mai endgültig bestätigt. Der Beklagte Richard Nagy wurde zur Herausgabe der Bilder an die rechtmäßigen Erben sowie zur Bezahlung von Schadenersatz und Zinsen verpflichtet. Damit ist auch die Restitution der im Besitz der österreichischen Museen Albertina und Sammlung Leopold befindlichen Bilder aus der Sammlung Grünbaum wieder ins Zentrum der österreichischen Restitutionspolitik gerückt.

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§ 7.500 cash reward for hints about “Boats mirrored in the Water”, Egon Schiele

Deutsche Übersetzung unterhalb

THE MONUMENTS MEN FOUNDATION rewards $ 7.500 for information leading to the recovery of the painting.

For more information regarding this painting: https://www.monumentsmenfoundation.org/wwii-most-wanted-schiele

Cash paid at time of legal recovery.
Anyone with information regarding these object should contact the Foundation at 1-866-WWII-ART (1-866-994-4278) or wwiiart@monumentsmenfoundation.org.

Full terms and conditions available at monumentsmenfoundation.org/wwii-most-wanted

The Monuments Men Foundation respects the privacy of all those who contact us, in particular those wishing to provide information anonymously. The Monuments Men Foundation reserves the right to modify the terms of the reward at its sole discretion. Offer void where prohibited by law.


THE MONUMENTS MEN FOUNDATION setzt eine Belohnung von $7.500 für Informationen aus, die zur Wiederbeschaffung des Bildes führt.

Die Auszahlung erfolgt zum Zeitpunkt der legalen Wiederbeschaffung.
Wer Informationen zudiesem Objekt hat, sollte die Stiftung unter 1-866-WWII-ART (1-866-994-4278) oder wwiiart@monumentsmenfoundation.org kontaktieren.

Die Monuments Men Foundation respektiert die Privatsphäre aller Personen, die mit uns Kontakt aufnehmen, insbesondere derjenigen, die anonym Informationen zur Verfügung stellen möchten. Die Monuments Men Foundation behält sich das Recht vor, die Bedingungen für die Belohnung nach eigenem Ermessen zu ändern. Das Angebot ist ungültig, wo dies gesetzlich verboten ist.

Weitere Informationen sowie die Teilnahmebedingungen finden Sie hier: https://www.monumentsmenfoundation.org/wwii-most-wanted

Wanted! $ 25,000 cash reward for looted Artworks

GERMAN VERSION BELOW

For more information, terms and conditions, visit: https://www.monumentsmenfoundation.org/wwii-most-wanted


THE MONUMENTS MEN FOUNDATION setzt eine Belohnung von bis zu $25.000 für Informationen aus, die zur Wiederbeschaffung jedes Kulturguts führen, das im WWII Most Wanted Art™ Spielkartensatz enthalten ist.

Die Auszahlung erfolgt zum Zeitpunkt der legalen Wiederbeschaffung.
Wer Informationen zu einem dieser Objekte hat, sollte die Stiftung unter 1-866-WWII-ART (1-866-994-4278) oder wwiiart@monumentsmenfoundation.org kontaktieren.

Die Monuments Men Foundation respektiert die Privatsphäre aller Personen, die mit uns Kontakt aufnehmen, insbesondere derjenigen, die anonym Informationen zur Verfügung stellen möchten. Die Monuments Men Foundation behält sich das Recht vor, die Bedingungen für die Belohnung nach eigenem Ermessen zu ändern. Das Angebot ist ungültig, wo dies gesetzlich verboten ist.

Weitere Informationen sowie die Teilnahmebedingungen finden Sie hier: https://www.monumentsmenfoundation.org/wwii-most-wanted