US authorities have returned seven works of art by Egon Schiele, stolen during the Nazi era, to the heirs of Jewish art collector Fritz Grünbaum. According to the Public Prosecution Service, the works were transferred voluntarily.
“It is never too late to make up for what we have lost, to honor the victims and reflect on how their families continue to be affected today,” said New York Attorney General Alvin Bragg Wednesday at the presentation of the paintings. in New York City.
According to prosecutors, Grünbaum was taken into custody by the Nazis in 1938. His wife later had to transfer the art collection to the National Socialists. The works are said to have belonged to the collection of the Jewish comedian and collector Grünbaum, who was murdered in the Dachau concentration camp in 1941. The seven paintings were sold in 1956 to a New York gallery by dealer Eberhard Kornfeld. The value of the submitted paintings was approximately 9.5 million dollars (8.87 million euros).
Last week there were already reports in the American media that another three paintings by Schiele had been seized on suspicion of theft.
The heirs of the Austrian collector Grünbaum had already tried in the past to have allegedly stolen art returned. According to reports, they were successful in court around 2018. Two paintings were subsequently returned to family members in 2022.
Source: Krone
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