The US has returned seven artworks by Austrian painter Egon Schiele to the heirs of a Jewish cabaret star who owned them before he was killed by the Nazis in 1941.
Fritz Grünbaum’s family had sought the return of his Schiele pieces for more than two decades.
Valued at between $780,000 (£633,000) and $2.75m apiece, some had been on display at prominent museums in the US.
The claims prompted lawsuits in several courts.
In 2018, a New York civil court ruled the pieces were never sold or surrendered by Mr Grünbaum.
In a ceremony on Monday, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg called the return of the artwork “historic”.
The museums where the pieces were held – the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) and the Morgan Library & Museum, both in New York, and the Santa Barbara Museum of Art in California – agreed to give the pieces voluntarily to prosecutors after learning that they had been stolen.
A few of the pieces were also in the possession of Ronald Lauder, the president of the World Jewish Congress, and the estate of Serge Sabarsky, a well-known art collector, both of whom agreed to return them.
Mr Grünbaum, who died in a concentration camp at Dachau in Germany, owned 81 pieces by Schiele.
His wife, Elisabeth, was forced to hand over his art collection to the Nazis after he was arrested in 1938. She later died in a concentration camp in 1942.
Schiele’s pieces had been declared “degenerate art” by Adolf Hitler, and were sold to finance the Nazi Party.
Some had ended up in the possession of a New York dealer by the name of Otto Kallir, who sold them to different buyers.
The heirs of Mr Grünbaum went to court in New York State in 2018 to fight for the return of two Schiele pieces from a London-based collector named Richard Nagy.
The judge overseeing the case, Charles V Ramos, ruled in their favour, stating that it is unlikely Mr Grünbaum voluntarily gave the artworks away when he was detained at Dachau.
This led his heirs to elevate their case to the Manhattan district attorney to see if other Schiele pieces that once belonged to Mr Grünbaum would count as stolen property under New York law, prosecutors said.
By doing so, prosecutors were able to track how the seven pieces made their way through New York and into various collections.
Timothy Reif, a relative of Mr Grünbaum, praised New York prosecutors for their role in returning the pieces of art to their legal owners.
Mr Reif said on Monday the recovery had “achieved a measure of justice for the victims of murder and robbery”.
“When viewing these artworks, imagine Fritz and Elisabeth in their lively Vienna apartment singing and dancing and cracking jokes,” he added.
Among the artworks returned is a piece titled I Love Antithesis, valued at $2.75m, and Standing Woman that was previously on display at the MoMA, valued at $1.5m.
The return of these pieces follows notification by Manhattan prosecutors last week of their intent to seize three other artworks from galleries in Chicago, Pittsburgh and Ohio.
The New York state Supreme Court says that “there is reasonable cause to believe” that the artworks constitute stolen property.
The pieces remain for now at the museums, whose officials have said they are confident in the legal ownership of the art. A federal case is in progress to resolve the matter.
LONDON (AP) — With a few daubs of a paintbrush, the Brontë sisters have got their dots back.
More than eight decades after it was installed, a memorial to the three 19th-century sibling novelists in London’s Westminster Abbey was amended Thursday to restore the diaereses – the two dots over the e in their surname.
The dots — which indicate that the name is pronounced “brontay” rather than “bront” — were omitted when the stone tablet commemorating Charlotte, Emily and Anne was erected in the abbey’s Poets’ Corner in October 1939, just after the outbreak of World War II.
They were restored after Brontë historian Sharon Wright, editor of the Brontë Society Gazette, raised the issue with Dean of Westminster David Hoyle. The abbey asked its stonemason to tap in the dots and its conservator to paint them.
“There’s no paper record for anyone complaining about this or mentioning this, so I just wanted to put it right, really,” Wright said. “These three Yorkshire women deserve their place here, but they also deserve to have their name spelled correctly.”
It’s believed the writers’ Irish father Patrick changed the spelling of his surname from Brunty or Prunty when he went to university in England.
Raised on the wild Yorkshire moors, all three sisters died before they were 40, leaving enduring novels including Charlotte’s “Jane Eyre,” Emily’s “Wuthering Heights” and Anne’s “The Tenant of Wildfell Hall.”
Rebecca Yorke, director of the Brontë Society, welcomed the restoration.
“As the Brontës and their work are loved and respected all over the world, it’s entirely appropriate that their name is spelled correctly on their memorial,” she said.
In a case that has sent shockwaves through the Vancouver Island art community, a local art dealer has been charged with one count of fraud over $5,000. Calvin Lucyshyn, the former operator of the now-closed Winchester Galleries in Oak Bay, faces the charge after police seized hundreds of artworks, valued in the tens of millions of dollars, from various storage sites in the Greater Victoria area.
Alleged Fraud Scheme
Police allege that Lucyshyn had been taking valuable art from members of the public under the guise of appraising or consigning the pieces for sale, only to cut off all communication with the owners. This investigation began in April 2022, when police received a complaint from an individual who had provided four paintings to Lucyshyn, including three works by renowned British Columbia artist Emily Carr, and had not received any updates on their sale.
Further investigation by the Saanich Police Department revealed that this was not an isolated incident. Detectives found other alleged victims who had similar experiences with Winchester Galleries, leading police to execute search warrants at three separate storage locations across Greater Victoria.
Massive Seizure of Artworks
In what has become one of the largest art fraud investigations in recent Canadian history, authorities seized approximately 1,100 pieces of art, including more than 600 pieces from a storage site in Saanich, over 300 in Langford, and more than 100 in Oak Bay. Some of the more valuable pieces, according to police, were estimated to be worth $85,000 each.
Lucyshyn was arrested on April 21, 2022, but was later released from custody. In May 2024, a fraud charge was formally laid against him.
Artwork Returned, but Some Remain Unclaimed
In a statement released on Monday, the Saanich Police Department confirmed that 1,050 of the seized artworks have been returned to their rightful owners. However, several pieces remain unclaimed, and police continue their efforts to track down the owners of these works.
Court Proceedings Ongoing
The criminal charge against Lucyshyn has not yet been tested in court, and he has publicly stated his intention to defend himself against any pending allegations. His next court appearance is scheduled for September 10, 2024.
Impact on the Local Art Community
The news of Lucyshyn’s alleged fraud has deeply affected Vancouver Island’s art community, particularly collectors, galleries, and artists who may have been impacted by the gallery’s operations. With high-value pieces from artists like Emily Carr involved, the case underscores the vulnerabilities that can exist in art transactions.
For many art collectors, the investigation has raised concerns about the potential for fraud in the art world, particularly when it comes to dealing with private galleries and dealers. The seizure of such a vast collection of artworks has also led to questions about the management and oversight of valuable art pieces, as well as the importance of transparency and trust in the industry.
As the case continues to unfold in court, it will likely serve as a cautionary tale for collectors and galleries alike, highlighting the need for due diligence in the sale and appraisal of high-value artworks.
While much of the seized artwork has been returned, the full scale of the alleged fraud is still being unraveled. Lucyshyn’s upcoming court appearances will be closely watched, not only by the legal community but also by the wider art world, as it navigates the fallout from one of Canada’s most significant art fraud cases in recent memory.
Art collectors and individuals who believe they may have been affected by this case are encouraged to contact the Saanich Police Department to inquire about any unclaimed pieces. Additionally, the case serves as a reminder for anyone involved in high-value art transactions to work with reputable dealers and to keep thorough documentation of all transactions.
As with any investment, whether in art or other ventures, it is crucial to be cautious and informed. Art fraud can devastate personal collections and finances, but by taking steps to verify authenticity, provenance, and the reputation of dealers, collectors can help safeguard their valuable pieces.
