New York authorities announced Wednesday the return of seven works of art stolen from them worth more than $9 million Nazi regime to the family of Fritz Grünbaum, an Austrian Jewish cabaret artist murdered in the Holocaust.
The drawings, all by the Austrian artist, Egon Schiele were voluntarily given by the institutions and properties that owned them, including the famous Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) from New York.
“After they were presented with evidence that they had been robbed by the Nazis,” the prosecutor’s office said. Manhattan it is a statement.
The decision is a victory for Grünbaum’s heirs, who have been fighting for the return of the heir for years Construction.
Who was Grünbaum?
Fritz Grünbaum was a well-known collector of Austrian modern art; his works were featured in famous catalogs and exhibitions. Grünbaum died in the Dachau concentration camp in Germany in 1941.
“I hope that this moment serves as a reminder, despite the terrible death and destruction caused by the… Nazis“ It is never too late to reclaim some of what we have lost and to honor the victims,” the district attorney said. Alvin Bragg it is a statement.
In 2018, a Manhattan court ruled USA noted that Grünbaum had not sold or given away any of his works before his death and that therefore his heirs were the rightful owners.
Timothy Reif Judge and relative of Grünbaum, thanked the authorities for their success in solving crimes that were committed more than 80 years ago.
The seven drawings were confiscated by the Antiques Traffic Unit from the District Attorney’s Office earlier this year, from MoMA, the Ronald Lauder Collection, the Morgan Library and the Vally Sabarsky Trust in Manhattan, and the Santa Barbara Museum of Art in California.
Prosecutors estimated the total value was more than $9 million.
