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October 3, 2008
Baltimoreans Examine Stolen Nazi Art
Barbara Pash
Associate Editor
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For 15 years, Monique Goss has been searching for the artworks taken from her grandfather, a prominent Viennese collector and dealer, during the Nazi era. And she found some hanging in official museums.
Ms. Goss is now awaiting the return of eight pieces she located, amazed that her search actually produced results. “It’s so difficult. There are so many roadblocks,” said Ms. Goss, a Baltimore resident and artist. “It took me 10 years to prove [to the Austrian government] that I was the heir. I had to provide documents, birth certificates, wills.”
In the realm of Holocaust-era cases, the recovery of Nazi-looted art is the next big thing. It follows on the heels of Swiss bank accounts, insurance and slave labor claims.
“We are at the beginning of what will become an important issue,” said Elizabeth Rodini, associate director of the program in museums and society at Johns Hopkins University, who will discuss the subject in a panel discussion this Sunday afternoon, Oct. 5, at the Walters Art Museum.
Thomas R. Kline, an attorney in Washington, D.C., has been working on art restitution cases for two decades. He was involved in one of the first high-profile cases, the return of a medieval Bible taken from a German church by an American soldier.
“That led to Holocaust looted art cases,” said Mr. Kline, who represented the German church in that case, and has since gone on to represent claimants like Ms. Goss and American museums whose collections are being questioned.
Mr. Kline said looted art cases are difficult to prove because a lot of time has passed. Also, the claimants may not know the full story or even, like Ms. Goss, the particular pieces to look for. They have to prove rightful inheritance.
“They know something happened to the art, but they don’t know if it was looted or if the [owners] fled their homes and left the art behind,” said Mr. Kline. “The court needs evidence that the art was lost due to persecution.”
There is also the matter of timing. After the war, certain countries, such as Austria, were “extremely hostile” to art claims, he said. That has changed. A case was tried in New York State recently involving a painting in Austria.
“The judge asked, ‘Why now?’” said Mr. Kline. “The answer is, the cases are being handled now because they can.”
Ms. Goss’ grandfather died before she was born, but not before Germany took over Austria in 1938, “Aryanized” his business and confiscated his art. Ms. Goss was born in France, where her parents had fled.
After the war, the family was able to locate two pieces from the grandfather’s collection. Both were in Vienna, in a private art gallery and an official art museum. While Ms. Goss is vague about the fate of the first piece, she said the second piece was de-acquisitioned and sold in Austria. “We weren’t allowed to take it out of the country,” she said.
It was only in recent years that tools were created to help Ms. Goss in her search. The Lost Art Registry, an international organization, was created. In 1997, New York State founded the Holocaust Claims Processing Office in the New York State Banking Department. Ms. Goss worked with both of these entities.
Anna B. Rubin is director of the HCPO, the only such office in the United States that specifically helps individuals with restitution claims — bank accounts, insurance policies and lost art. You do not have to be a New York resident or a U.S. citizen to use its services, which are free.
Ms. Rubin said the office is currently pursuing 125 claims, most of which are for multiple works. How effective the office can be depends on the amount of information provided by a claimant, she said.
The office deals with art looted by Nazi troops from 1933 to 1945. Depending on who currently holds the art — a museum in a country, or an individual — the process varies. “The cases take a lot of time, just in terms of locating the artwork. Unless it comes on the market, it is difficult to trace its location,” said Ms. Rubin, whose office has recovered 18 works of art since its inception.
In recent years, a handful of cases have caught the public’s attention. One was the return by the Austrian government of a Gustav Klimt painting that subsequently sold for more than $20 million. Another involved the Art Institute of Chicago and a donated Edgar Degas that turned out to be looted art.
Hopkins’ Dr. Rodini said both the museum association and the museum directors association have issued policies that museums must examine their collections for any questionable pieces and let the public know the results.
“Museums want to be trusted, and if they’re not, there are tremendous ramifications for how they are viewed by the public,” she said. “Just because they bought in good faith doesn’t mean they are free and clear.”
As part of Free Fall Baltimore, a series of cultural events during the month of October, the Walters Art Museum, at 600 N. Charles St., presents “Returned Treasures: A Reunion of Artwork Looted during the Nazi Era” Oct. 5 from 2 to 5 p.m. Panelists will be Monique Goss, Thomas Kline, Elizabeth Rodini and Anna Rubin. The event is free, but pre-registration is recommended. Call 410-547-9000, ext. 238.
Resources
Holocaust Claims Processing Office, State of New York Banking Department at claims.state.ny.us.
International Registries of Lost Art — artloss.com, private international database of lost and stolen art, antiques and collectibles; and tracelootedart.com , database of looted art checked against objects for sale by dealers and auction houses.
United States Registry — nepip.org , searchable registry of objects in U.S. museum collections that changed hands in Europe during the Nazi era.