picture of the famous French painter Henri Matisse (Henri Matisse) «Pink Wall» (1898), stolen in the late 1930's Nazi army officer, now owned by a charitable organization.

Initially, the canvas was the property of Harry lap (Harry Fuld), a German businessman of Jewish origin. In 1899 he founded the company in Frankfurt on production phones H. Fuld & Co. Telefon und Telegraphenwerke AG. His business was very profitable, and the tail has become a rich man. He and his family were right there to prevent the collected works of art and of all styles and trends.

Harry lap was killed during a business trip to Switzerland in 1932. His collection has passed by inheritance to his son, Harry Jr. tail. In 1937, tail, Jr., left Germany. Works from his collection were packed in boxes and should have been sent to Switzerland, but they confiscated the Nazis. The painting Matisse inherited Gershtaynu Kurt (Kurt Gerstein), an officer unit «Waffen-SS».

According to the researchers of the Holocaust Memorial Museum in the United States, Gershtayna as specialist sanobrabotke, introduced in the State Institute of Hygiene HS. His duty was the delivery of the gas Zyklon B to Auschwitz and other death camps.

In April 1945, Gershtayn surrendered to French authorities. He was seated in a Parisian prison, Cherche-Midi, where he wrote about his work in the NC. In July 1945 he was hanged.

Three years later the French gendarmes found a canvas «Pink Wall» cache in some homes Gershtayna in the German city of Tuebingen. In 1949, the canvas was included in the collection of National Museum of Contemporary Art (now the Center Pompidou).

Harry tail, Jr. died in 1963. He bequeathed his fortune of some Martin Giselle (Gisela Martin). Martin died in Switzerland in 1992, leaving his property UK Israeli Welfare Association Magen David Adom, involved in providing emergency medical assistance to the inhabitants of Israel. Recently, the Ministry of Culture of France with fanfare awarded Matisse picture of its representatives.

Head of the British Branch of Magen David Adom Clay Stewart (Stuart Glyn) said that he did not know why Giselle Martin decided to leave him his fortune. Moreover, it is unknown why Martin won this state by tail-young - no one knows what their relationship was linked. Anyway, the painting «The pink wall» is now the property of Magen David Adom. Stuart Clay said that the work is likely to sell. According to experts, it can yield a six figure. But first, the picture will be on display in museums. Clay explained that now he is negotiating with museums in Israel and France.

Of course, in those cases, which confiscated the Nazis, was not only a Matisse canvas. All works that were to be sent then to Switzerland, too, by right Magen David Adom. And now the organization is engaged in their search.

The collection included a statue of the Buddha's lap XII century, works by Italian artists of the XVI century, furniture and other items. Clay said that the work of this collection can be viewed at the State Hermitage Museum in Germany and even in Israeli museums. Magen David Adom intends to collect all the pieces themselves, and therefore has been negotiating with representatives of cultural institutions. Clay does not deny that the showing of the exhibits belonging to the tail assembly - «a long, slow and expensive process». But the charity is going to fight to the end: some objects from the collection, according to Clay, a much more important (and, hence, expensive) than the picture of Matisse.

Material prepared Yulia Maksimova

Sources: The Associated Press , artinvestment.ru

PS On this topic, you can also read:

How the Nazis looted Europe

heirs of victims of the Nazis against the Federal Republic of Germany

Minneapolis Institute of Arts to part with the Nazis confiscated the picture Leger

exhibition of works of art stolen Nazi

In Germany, an agency that is exploring provenans works in public collections