Fine arts Museum of Basel came to an agreement with the heirs of curt Glaser
ARTinvestment.RU   01 апреля 2020

After more than 10 years after refusing to return to the heirs of curt Glaser about 200 restitution, the Museum has agreed in return to pay financial compensation, the amount of which is not disclosed

for the First time the issue of restitution of artworks from the collection of fleeing the Nazis Kurt Glaser was raised by the collector's heirs until 2004. Then the Museum almost immediately turned them down. Retrial took place in 2008 and ended with the same result: the Museum argued that the grounds for restitution can not be, because the Museum is a bona fide purchaser 200 works from the Glezer collection, sold at auction in Berlin in 1933.

the Situation changed in 2017-м when art Basel, the Commission again agreed to hear the case. The occasion was appeared in the Swiss media that the Museum initially biased approached the consideration of this case, and the fact that several museums in Germany, who bought things from the Glezer collection at the same auction in Berlin, back their heirs of the collector.

And behold, three years later, after the review of this case the Museum and the heirs of curt Glaser came to an agreement: acquired by the Museum in 1933 200 works, including original and draw graphics Henri Matisse, Auguste Rodin, Marc Chagall and Edvard Munch, will remain the property of the Museum, but the heirs will be compensated.

David Rowland, attorney for the heirs of Glaser said that the decision of the case — "Big step forward [for Switzerland], and great progress in addressing restitution issues." Grandniece and one of the heirs of Glaser Valerie Sattler said, according to the publication The New York Times: "We are all very skeptical about the possibility of reviewing this case... It took a long time, but it's good news."

Professor curt Glaser was Director of the Berlin state art library, when in 1933 the Nazis forced him to leave the law prohibiting Jews to occupy positions of German civil servants. In order to leave the country, he had to sell his entire art collection at auction in Berlin in may 1933. After the Second world war, the heirs of Glaser, who had data about the location of works from his collection, reported her disappearance to the judicial authorities. And then the German authorities have agreed that the collection disappeared from-за the actions of the Nazis, and the heirs paid a small compensation. In 1998, after the adoption of the Washington agreements, regulating the restitution of works of art in the Netherlands was established, the Commission engaged in tracing the subject of restitution of works and works from the collection Glazer was detected in several museums in Germany and Switzerland. Since then, the heirs, with varying success, trying to get back into the family collection by Kurt Glaser.

the Material was prepared by Maria Kuznetsova AI

Sources: art-critique.com, nytimes.com, artinvestment.ru