Perhaps soon the Stockholm Moderna Museet will have to part with the painting by Emil Nolde (Emil Nolde) «Blooming garden Utenvarfe». Before the war, the work belonged to a businessman of Jewish origin Netanya Deutsche Otto (Otto Nathan Deutsch), whose heirs are now trying to conquer it.

At the end of 1938 or beginning of 1939, Deutsch had fled from Frankfurt to Amsterdam, leaving Germany in its art collection. The works he was to deliver the sort of German transport company. But for some reason the picture was not sent. Deutsch died in 1943 «from natural causes», never seeing their treasures. After the war, representatives of the transport company said the relatives of the businessman, that all works were killed in the bombing of Frankfurt.

In 1962, the heirs Дойча received compensation from the West German equivalent of 1 000 dollars. And in 1978 they learned that two paintings by Nolde, part of the collection survived. One of them, «Blooming garden Utenvarfe», found in the Moderna Museet. In 2002, the heirs asked the museum to return them to the job.

Cloth Nolde was bought by the Swedish Government in 1967 at public auction in the Swiss city of Lugano. At the same auction was sold two paintings from the collection Дойча, «Mac and roses». It acquired a private collector. Prior to the sale at an auction several years spent working in the gallery of Roman Norbert Ketterera (Roman Norbert Ketterer) in Stuttgart.

«Blooming garden Utenvarfe» is one of 35 paintings Nolde, members of the collection of Moderna Museet. The cost of this work is estimated at 4-6 million dollars. Her return could be the first restitution in the history of the museum.

Moderna Museet has no right to make decisions on sale or return of any works from his collection - this is only the government can do. But in July 2007 the Government decided that the museum must find himself «a just and fair solution» the question of restitution of the painting.

One of the heirs, Ricardo Lorca-Deutsch (Ricardo Lorca-Deutsch), explained that the museum were invited to purchase the canvas with a discount of 25 per cent of market value. The heirs also claimed that the museum will be able to return the amount for which the picture was bought in 1967. Another option included a donation of 200 thousand dollars, which will be able to get the Moderna Museet, if given a picture. Recently, Lorca-Deutsch said that the heirs have found a sponsor willing to buy and borrow its museum at 3-5 years, with possibility of extension to this deadline. But at the Moderna Museet accept this proposal only if the picture odolzhat for 10-20 years. The representative of the museum Morberg Maria (Maria Morberg) said that the proposals are not the heirs of «honest and fair».

March 12, Lorca-Deutsch asked the Minister of Culture of Sweden Lena Adelson Lilerot (Lena Adelsohn Liljeroth) to intervene in the dispute. According to him, Moderna Museet deliberately «pulling» with the decision. But two of the heirs have already exceeded 80 - unknown, but they still can wait. Assistant Lilerot Markus Hartmann (Marcus Hartmann), however, made it clear that the Government would not pursue the matter.

In January, Director of Moderna Museet, Lars Nittve (Lars Nittve) said that to assign the picture of the heirs of their conditions, it would be inappropriate in terms of ethics. He noted that the return of the potentially negative consequences for many other museums. Nittve finds that restitution is, of course, good business, but in recent years it has become a great way to gain for the lawyers. We know that lawyers have won 25-35 percent of the value of the work of museums. Therefore, criticized the decision of the Director of the heirs Дойча to bring to the cause of the New York defender David Roulenda (David Rowland).

Ricardo Lorca-Deutsch answered that heirs seek to return the painting, not because it can be expensive to sell. Many relatives Дойча were killed by the Nazis, the survivors lost all property. Those heirs of the Frankfurt businessman who has over 80, remembers the horrors of concentration camps. «We want to restore at least a small part (of what we lost. - Ed. )», - said Lorca-Deutsch. About David Roulenda, he noted that without a lawyer they would not have been any chance to make restitution of the painting.

Sam Roulend said that the museum is using the issue of his remuneration as a pretext to «delay» return to work.

According to the Conference of the material claims of Jews to Germany during the Holocaust, the Nazis stole about 650 thousand pieces of art. In 1998, Washington has developed regulations on the Nazis confiscated art, which have signed and 44 countries, including Sweden. Terms urge museums to explore carefully provenans in their collections and indemnify the owners and their heirs. These rules do not entail legal obligations, but the state are trying to adhere to.

Material prepared Yulia Maksimova

Sources: bloomberg.com , artinvestment.ru