Art stolen by Nazis at heart of lawsuit against Christie’s

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A Czech man claims he’s the rightful inheritor to work value hundreds of thousands that when belonged to a Jewish cabaret performer who was killed by the Nazis — and needs public sale home Christie’s to disclose what it is aware of concerning the artwork’s present location and house owners.

Milos Vavra is an inheritor to Franz Friedrich “Fritz” Grünbaum‘s artwork assortment, he stated in a Manhattan Supreme Courtroom submitting asking a decide to power Christie’s to share the knowledge.

Earlier than he was killed in January 1941 on the Dachau Focus Camp, the Nazis compelled Grünbaum, 60, to signal a doc giving his spouse the authority to switch his property.

The Nazis then stole his artwork assortment, which included works by Austrian impressionist Egon Schiele, Vavra stated in court docket papers.

The Schiele works are thought of “crimson flags” within the artwork amassing world, in line with the lawsuit. Obtained by the NY Put up

Heirs of the cabaret performer need data on who presently owns the work. Obtained by the NY Put up

The performer’s artwork collections was stolen by the Nazis. Obtained by the NY Put up

Grünbaum was killed on the Dachau focus camp. ullstein bild by way of Getty Pictures

Christie’s has beforehand bought six works by the Schiele from Grünbaum’s assortment — most promoting for $1 million apiece, in line with court docket papers.

The Scheile artworks are on the middle of a authorized dispute. Obtained by the NY Put up

In July, the public sale home advised Vavra and one other Grünbaum inheritor {that a} household in Switzerland reached out providing to “accomplice” with the heirs to promote three Schiele work, Vavra stated within the submitting.

“Specialists at Christie’s have seen these three works and describe two of the works as being among the many highest high quality (and doubtlessly most useful) Scheile (sic) works they've seen,” in line with a Christie’s electronic mail included in court docket papers.

The work weren't well-known exterior of Austria earlier than the Nazis invaded. Obtained by the NY Put up

Schiele’s artwork was not bought exterior of Austria earlier than the Nazis took over the nation in 1938.

The works “have been thought of to be ‘crimson flag’ artworks following World Conflict II and really harmful to gather or promote with out ascertaining provenance,” Vavra stated within the authorized papers.

Vavra needs a decide to power the public sale home to “instantly flip over” all data “related to possessors of artworks from the Grünbaum Assortment (together with all gross sales data, monetary data, value determinations, professional stories, estimate and correspondence),” so he can deliver a lawsuit in search of restitution.

Christie’s stated it: “has established an unparalleled file of bringing objects with painful World-Conflict-Two period histories to public sale by respecting the regulation, the ethics of restitution, and the ideas put in place to assist a profitable final result, as we're doing on this case.”