NewsRestitution
Dutch museum settles with Jewish businessman's heirs on painting sold in Nazi era, defying government panel
The agreement overturns the Restitution Committee's 2013 rejection of the claim, which argued the painting was worth more to the museum than the heirs
NewsRestitution
After major Klimt restitution by France, another work still vexes Vienna
Apple Tree II, once confused for Roses Under the Trees, was returned to the wrong family 20 years ago, leaving the heirs of its original owner facing huge obstacles to get it back
NewsRestitution
German Nazi-looted art panel recommends return of Franz Marc’s Foxes to heirs of Jewish banker
The decision on whether to return the painting, which hangs in Dusseldorf’s Kunstpalast, will be made by the city assembly in April
NewsMusée du Louvre
Louvre probes its collection for Nazi and colonial loot in massive provenance research project
Museum launches an online catalogue of 485,000 objects while curators comb through wartime acquisitions and works from former colonies
NewsRestitution
German Nazi loot panel urges return of Schiele work at Museum Ludwig to Jewish dentist’s heirs
In a unanimous decision, the government’s advisory commission says it is likely the work was sold under duress
NewsRestitution
Germany proposes law change to ease Nazi-loot returns from private foundations
Law change follows refusal by some foundations to restitute property lost due to Nazi persecution
NewsNazi loot
An arms dealer casts a shadow over Kunsthaus Zurich
Petition calls for more transparency in planned display of the collection of Emil Georg Bührle, who bought Nazi-looted art with a fortune built on weapons
FeatureBook Club
The Nazi art dealer who supplied Hermann Göring and operated in a shadowy art underworld after the war
A new book by Jonathan Petropoulos explores Bruno Lohse’s devotion to Hitler’s number two
NewsLaw
US Supreme Court hears oral arguments in Guelph Treasure claim
The case centres on whether Germany’s taking of a trove of medieval church reliquaries from its own Jewish citizens was a violation of international law—potentially opening the door for other reparations
NewsNazi loot
Dutch policy on Nazi-looted art should be more humane and transparent, panel finds
The government's treatment of claims for art plundered by Nazis has come under fire for placing interests of museums over "legal redress for injustice"
BlogAdventures with Van Gogh
Hunt still on for a Van Gogh self-portrait lost deep in a salt mine during the Second World War
The Magdeburg masterpiece may have been burned at the end of hostilities—but some believe it might have been looted and survive
NewsRestitution
Chair of Dutch Nazi-loot committee resigns ahead of report on restitution policy
Alfred Hammerstein’s departure follows criticism of Dutch committee’s decisions
NewsLooted art
Jewish collections looted by the Nazis to be examined and traced in new database
The Jewish Digital Cultural Recovery Project will begin with a pilot scheme focusing on the Old Masters collection of Adolphe Schloss, which was seized by the Gestapo
NewsRestitution
Nazi-looted Dutch Old Master to be auctioned in settlement between heir and current holder
The Golden Age work by Aelbert Cuyp was looted from Jacques Goudstikker and acquired by Hermann Göring
NewsRestitution
France ordered to return three Derain paintings to heirs of Jewish dealer René Gimpel
Ruling by Paris court of appeal sets an important precedent for pending restitution claim over 16 paintings in French museum collections
NewsRestitution
‘I had lost hope’: The story behind a Nazi-looted Madonna and long-delayed compensation to Jewish heirs
The 93-year-old heir Grete Unger Heinz recalls contemplating a Jacopo del Sellaio painting as a child in Vienna
NewsRestitution
Turin museum pays settlement to Jewish heirs for Renaissance Madonna that was looted by Nazis
Family of Gustav Arens also receive French government compensation for a Tintoretto painting and a Dutch landscape
NewsArt market
Sotheby's to auction £4m restituted Bellotto painting that Jewish retail magnate was forced to sell to Hitler
The view of Dresden's Zwinger moat had been returned to the heirs of Max Emden and will now be offered for sale in London on 28 July
NewsNazi loot
US government recommends that the Supreme Court hear German museums’ appeal on Guelph Treasure claim
The solicitor general’s recent filing suggests the Nazis’ looting of Jewish collections in Germany was a domestic rather than international crime
NewsProvenance
Curator reveals how a Jewish collector snuck a medieval tapestry out of Nazi Germany
Victoria Reed, the provenance curator at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, has been sharing the history about a work from the collection each day on Twitter while the museum remains locked down
NewsNazi loot
Hitler’s helpers? German dynasty’s restitution claim hangs on Nazi ties
Hohenzollern family is seeking compensation for thousands of works and expropriated property
NewsRestitution
Italy hands Nazi-looted Renaissance sculpture from the Uffizi to Germany
Andrea della Robbia’s Mary Magdalene was acquired by Hermann Göring in 1941
NewsNazi loot
German court rules in favour of Nazi-looted art database, although owners say a listing makes works unsellable
Lostart.de is caught between the conflicting demands of claimants and the holders of disputed art
NewsNazi loot
Supreme Court delays Guelph Treasure appeal so US government can add its views to case
The German state museum agency has argued that it cannot be sued in American courts by heirs of Jewish dealers who sold the works during the Holocaust
NewsAppointments
Nazi loot expert joins Louvre to investigate its wartime acquisitions
Hire of French art historian Emmanuelle Polack suggests a more proactive stance on Nazi-era provenance research at Paris museum
NewsArt market
Sotheby’s to auction three Nazi-looted works restituted to Jewish collector’s heirs
Two paintings by Signac and one by Pissarro are expected to fetch as much as £20m
NewsRestitution
How a Nazi-looted painting entered an Israeli museum
Tel Aviv Museum of Art reveals surprising provenance of 19th-century work by Jozef Israëls, which will be restituted to Jewish owner’s heirs in October
NewsRestitution
Dr Oetker returns painting to heirs of Jewish tobacco dealer murdered by the Nazis
Leo Bendel was killed at Buchenwald three years after he sold the painting by Carl Spitzweg to fund his escape from Nazi Germany
NewsRestitution
FBI recovers painting suspected as Nazi loot from US museum
Gari Melchers's painting of a winter landscape, which was in the Arkell Museum in the state of New York, belonged to the media mogul Rudolf Mosse
NewsRestitution
German Nazi loot panel divided on Max Stern painting—but returns it to his heirs anyway
For first time, advisory team stipulates that work must not be sold for ten years in case evidence emerges that contradicts its ruling
NewsRestitution
Uffizi recovers Nazi-looted painting from Germany
The Dutch still life heads back to the Florence museum after bold campaign by director
ArchiveNazi loot
Seattle Art Museum sues New York dealers Knoedler
The heirs of Parisian dealer Paul Rosenberg demand the return of a Matisse stolen during World War II
NewsNazi loot
Berlin museums appeal to US Supreme Court in dispute over €200m Guelph Treasure
The case 'shouldn't be heard in a US court', argues the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation
NewsNazi loot
Mass theft of art from East German citizens revealed in new report
Study reveals that up to 8% of museum acquisitions were looted from private citizens
NewsNazi loot
Court case over three Derain paintings will test France's promise to speed up Nazi-era claims
Grandchildren of art dealer René Gimpel accuse French culture ministry of blocking restitution of works hanging in state museums
NewsRestitution
Netherlands to restitute two paintings sold by Jewish businessman in Nazi era
Restitutions Committee recommends return of two Golden Age works to heirs of Jacob Lierens
NewsLaw
US Supreme Court declines to hear appeal on Nazi-looted art
Norton Simon Museum can keep two Lucas Cranach masterpieces
NewsLooting
A 'missed opportunity'? US seeks to return painting looted by Nazis to Ukraine
Questions are being raised about how the work ended up in the US and why such a public seizure is being pursued now
NewsRestitution
Panel urges return of Hitler’s Bellotto paintings to heirs of Jewish retail magnate
German advisory commission on Nazi-looted art says paintings in government collection should be restituted to the descendants of Max James Emden
NewsNazi loot
German cathedral returns Nazi-looted Dutch Old Master to heirs
Dutch Square is one of many paintings Bavaria returned to the families of the looters instead of the original Jewish owners after the war
NewsCornelius Gurlitt
Signac painting in Gurlitt hoard identified as Nazi loot
Restitution discussions with descendants of Jewish owner are underway
NewsMuseums & Heritage
Austrian exhibition to reveal story of Wolfgang Gurlitt, art dealer for the Nazis turned museum director
Lentos Kunstmuseum in Linz confronts the legacy of its controversial first director, cousin of Hildebrand Gurlitt
CommentNazi loot
Holocaust-era art restitution: more complex than you think
A rush to judgement has resulted in notable errors with some "Nazi-looted" art having been purchased legally
NewsArt market
European Parliament calls for restitution overhaul
Resolution includes proposals for database of looted art, support for provenance research and exemptions from statutes of limitations
NewsNazi loot
Max Stern: dealer's heirs still fighting for looted art justice
With works from the forced liquidation of his gallery by the Nazis still regularly turning up in Germany, two current restitution claims by his heirs could have major ramifications for all those seeking to recover looted art
NewsLooting
Heirs of Baron Herzog continue battle for Nazi-looted art collection despite US Supreme Court dismissal
Decades-long case to reclaim works held in Hungary’s museums will now go through US District Court
NewsRestitution
Dutch policy on Nazi-loot restitutions under fire
The “smallest and most chilling distinctions are being made in order to allow museums to keep their collections intact,” experts say
Podcast
Exclusive interview with Edmund de Waal, plus Roma persecution
How artists fight persecution is explored with the artist and author of the Hare with Amber Eyes and Krzysztof Gil, who describes the chilling history of "Roma hunting". Produced in association with Bonhams, auctioneers since 1793.
NewsMuseums & Heritage
Washington Principles: the restitution of Nazi-looted art is still a work in progress, 20 years on
Major conference in Berlin this week marks anniversary of landmark agreement
NewsRestitution
Dusseldorf auction house returns Dutch seascape to heirs of Jewish art dealer Max Stern
Auctioneer Frank Hargesheimer compensates consignor, sees “moral duty” to restitute art lost due to Nazi persecution
NewsRestitution
Düsseldorf faces Nazi-era claim for Franz Marc’s foxes
Painting hangs in the city’s Museum Kunstpalast
NewsRestitution
The marathon legal battle over property confiscated by the Czech government
Aristocratic family has been fighting for the return of castles, palaces and art for the past 20 years
ArchiveNazi loot
Tate’s director criticises government report on Nazi loot
Nicholas Serota says the document, which recommends the restitution of a Constable from the gallery’s collection, contains multiple inaccuracies
ArchiveNazi loot
Nazi loot claim for Tate’s Constable
Beaching a Boat, Brighton, has been claimed by the heirs of Baron Ferenc Hatvany
ArchiveRestitution
Israel steps up hunt for Nazi-looted art
Museums under pressure to research collections for Holocaust victims’ assets
ArchiveRestitution
Getting back art from Gurlitt’s hoard of Degenerate art
While the legal status of stolen or confiscated works is as yet unclear, there is hope for those who make claims for restitution
ArchiveRestitution
Ongoing Nazi loot restitution claims
A look at some of the artworks subject to ongoing international restitution claims
ArchiveLawsuits
Collector Steven Brooks says Sotheby’s sold him Nazi art
Uncertainty over whether the work—once owned by Goering—was looted has apparently left it unsaleable
ArchiveProvenance research
Canada under pressure over potential Nazi loot
Montreal museum returns painting amid growing calls to fund provenance research and return disputed works
ArchiveRestitution
Getty Institute publishes Nazi auction data
Rise in restitution claims expected after launch of online German auction catalogues for 1930-45
ArchiveRestitution
Statues remain with Rijksmuseum as heirs’ Nazi loot claim rejected
The Dutch advisory committee on the assessment of restitution applications has rejected a claim for two sculptures by the 15th-century German artist Tilman Riemenschneider
ArchiveObituaries
Bettina Looram dies
The last surviving child of Baron Alphonse von Rothschild, of the Austrian branch of that family, dies aged 88.
ArchiveLooted art
The Dutch government gives up its claim on Nazi loot
The decision not to appeal cannot but weaken its claim to other war booty such as the Koenigs collection still held in Russia
ArchiveRestitution
French heirs sue Serbia over seized paintings
Works held at Belgrade National Museum
ArchiveRestitution
Schiele restitution case could damage NY business, say dealers
The ruling in long-standing legal battle may threaten defence that a purchase was made in good faith
ArchiveNazi loot
We don’t own that Modigliani: restitution case faces legal dilemma
Nahmads say the contested painting belongs to another organisation
ArchiveRestitution
Herzog’s heirs given go-ahead to pursue Hungary for Nazi loot
They seek to recover 32 looted works
ArchiveGoudstikker
J.Paul Getty Museum vows to return piece from Goudstikker collection
However, the whereabouts of many works of art from the collection are still unknown
ArchiveRestitution
Courtauld faces renewed spoliation claim following Dutch decision
Though initially the claim was rejected, a case from the continent may leave room for appeal
ArchiveRestitution
Ten years after our report, the looted Benevento Missal will be returned to the cathedral
How The Art Newspaper changed the law
ArchiveMuseums
Grosz heirs vs MoMA case dismissed
MoMA maintains that the Grosz works were never Nazi loot
ArchiveRestitution
Restitution case targets Thyssen museum
But it may not be legally possible to sue Spain in the US courts
ArchiveMuseums
New evidence in Grosz Nazi loot case against MoMA
Museum disputes heirs’ claim for three works by the German painter George Grosz
ArchiveRestitution
Books: How we got the loot back from the Nazis
The story of the US Monuments Men
ArchiveProvenance research
Munich pushes provenance research concerning possible Nazi looting
The project, led by Dr Vanessa-Maria Voigt and Dr Horst Kessler, came about by a chance find in a desk...
ArchiveNews
Ukraine suffered “colossal” looting during World War II
New research challenges Russians’ claim that they own many cultural valuables from the independent state
ArchiveEgon Schiele
The increasing role of the market in settling restitution claims
Shakeouts of Nazi-looted occurring increasingly in the marketplace
ArchiveRestitution
Minneapolis hands Léger to collector’s family
The painting was stolen from its Jewish owner during the Nazi occupation of France
ArchiveRestitution
The time has come for a statute of limitations on restitution: stemming the flow of works from museums
Since the late 1990s there has been a strong push towards provenance research of collections and museums, and restitution of items that were looted or taken by the Nazis during their period of power
ArchiveProvenance research
Dresden takes major provenance research project to Russia
Strives to break restitution “logjam”
ArchiveNazi loot
Dresden state museums expand provenance research — all the way to Russia
Strives to break restitution “logjam”
ArchiveProvenance research
Dresden to spend €15m and employ 65 researchers on biggest provenance study ever undertaken
1 million objects will be examined and recorded over 10 years
ArchiveRestitution
Leopold Museum in Vienna accused over Nazi-looted art
Institution says restitution laws don’t apply as it is a private gallery
ArchiveRestitution
Dutch restitution group to carry on for three more years
Former vice-president of the Dutch Supreme Court is named chairman
ArchiveGoudstikker
Successful Amsterdam sale concludes the series of Goudstikker auctions
Old masters, recovered as a result of one of the world’s largest Nazi restitution claims, net $20m
ArchiveRestitution
Courtauld restitution claim dismissed
The three Rubens paintings will remain with the gallery
ArchiveRestitution
MoMA and Guggenheim file joint appeal against restitution effort
They dispute claims made by Julius Schoeps on Picassos in their collection
ArchiveRestitution
Dutch museums face largest ever restitution claim
Heirs of dealer Nathan Katz says 225 paintings were sold under duress
ArchiveAustria
Leonard Lauder’s Klimt landscape belongs to me, says heir of Nazi victim
Georges Jorisch is represented by Randol Schoenberg, the lawyer who last year won his eight-year case against Austria for the return of five Klimts to California resident Maria Altman
ArchiveNazi loot
V&A will not get casket back
Medieval casket returned to UK owner; Czartoryski family to pursue case with support of Polish Ministry of Culture
ArchiveGoudstikker
Norton Simon Museum of Art and Goudstikker heiress to go to court over fight for Cranachs
Marei von Saher claims they are Nazi loot, while Norton Simon believes it has legal title to the paintings
ArchiveNews
Growing evidence that Göring seized National Gallery’s Cranach from its pre-war owner
We uncover the remarkable story of how a US war reporter governed Hitler’s mountain retreat for a day and took control of Reichsmarschall Göring’s collection of stolen art
ArchiveRestitution
Holocaust restitution: Lack of funding and cooperation have resulted in failure and injustice
A short history of nazi loot restitution efforts
ArchiveRestitution
The Nazi bounty hunters: War loot claims become big business
World War II restitution is now a multi-million dollar enterprise in which lawyers, auction houses and possibly even venture capitalists all have a stake
ArchiveNews
Nazi war loot held in Austrian museums to be sold if unclaimed
The database of all art with questionable provenance is now online
ArchiveLooted art
Revealed: National Gallery’s Cranach is war loot
The painting was taken from Germany at the end of World War II
ArchiveProvenance research
Provenance research is too expensive, museums tell Congress
The hearing concerning America's progress in returning Nazi loot to original owners discussed potential problems
ArchiveRestitution
Simplified Dutch restitution policy to end
Policy regarding reclaiming of looted artworks to change come April
CommentLaw
The US Supreme Court’s silence on Nazi art theft fails Holocaust survivors
Last week’s decision to reject an appeal over the ownership of Picasso’s The Actor was a missed opportunity to clarify the limitations of the 2016 HEAR Act
Sam P. Israel