Unraveling the Continuing Complexities of Ownership Rights Surrounding Art Plundered from the Nazi Era: The Gurlitt Case

• In Event: Art and Antiquities Trafficking

Abstract

The dramatic seizures in 2012 by German authorities in Munich, Bavaria, and more recently in Salzburg, Austria, of large and previously unknown caches of art with an apparent provenance dating back in some cases to the Nazi era has prompted international debate about the continuing and unresolved issues of ownership still surrounding such plundered art. The seizures were made from an 81 year old German citizen, Cornelius Gurlitt, who seems to have inherited the artworks from his father, a Jewish art dealer who allegedly collaborated with the Nazi regime. The question that is now perplexing German and foreign media and lawyers alike is whether the state has a right to retain all paintings or whether Gurlitt and/or the original owners can demand all or some of them to be returned. This paper discusses the legal and ethical questions involved as well as the practical implications for galleries and museums exhibiting looted works of art in Germany and abroad.

Authors

• Duncan Chappell, University of Sydney

• Saskia Hufnagel, Queen Mary University of London