British Museum settles spoliation case
Work by 17th-century Dutch artist to remain in collection
The British Museum has settled a spoliation case involving an item in its collection that was originally bought in 1939 at the ‘forced’ sale of a collection belonging to a Jewish lawyer.
Coastal Scene With an Old Lighthouse was drawn by the Dutch artist Allaert van Everdingen in the 17th century and entered the London museum’s collection by bequest in 1997.
Research by the Holocaust Claims Processing Office (HCPO) of the New York State Department of Finance showed the drawing was purchased at the ‘forced’ sale of the collection of Bavarian-born Michael Berolzheimer (1866-1942), in 1939. His prints and drawings collection was sold anonymously at a Munich auction following his escape to America, along with his wife, the previous year.
An ex-gratia compensation payment has been agreed to resolve a case. The heirs of Michael Berolzheimer have agreed that the drawing can stay in the British Museum’s collection.
“We are delighted that the drawing will remain in the British Museum's collection for the widest public benefit,” said Jonathan Williams, the deputy director of the British Museum.
“In the collection it will serve as a permanent memorial both to the outstanding importance of the Berolzheimer collection, and to the terrible circumstances of its spoliation and dispersal.”
Williams said the British Museum has detailed provenance information on its drawings collection on its website to help those researching potentially spoliated works.
Last year, British Museum paid an undisclosed sum to the heirs of Arthur Feldmann following the discovery that a drawing in its collection had been seized by the Gestapo in March 1939.
A number of UK museums have been the subject of spoliation claims in recent years, including Tate, Courtauld Institute of Art, Victoria and Albert Museum, and Oxford’s Ashmolean Museum.
Coastal Scene With an Old Lighthouse was drawn by the Dutch artist Allaert van Everdingen in the 17th century and entered the London museum’s collection by bequest in 1997.
Research by the Holocaust Claims Processing Office (HCPO) of the New York State Department of Finance showed the drawing was purchased at the ‘forced’ sale of the collection of Bavarian-born Michael Berolzheimer (1866-1942), in 1939. His prints and drawings collection was sold anonymously at a Munich auction following his escape to America, along with his wife, the previous year.
An ex-gratia compensation payment has been agreed to resolve a case. The heirs of Michael Berolzheimer have agreed that the drawing can stay in the British Museum’s collection.
“We are delighted that the drawing will remain in the British Museum's collection for the widest public benefit,” said Jonathan Williams, the deputy director of the British Museum.
“In the collection it will serve as a permanent memorial both to the outstanding importance of the Berolzheimer collection, and to the terrible circumstances of its spoliation and dispersal.”
Williams said the British Museum has detailed provenance information on its drawings collection on its website to help those researching potentially spoliated works.
Last year, British Museum paid an undisclosed sum to the heirs of Arthur Feldmann following the discovery that a drawing in its collection had been seized by the Gestapo in March 1939.
A number of UK museums have been the subject of spoliation claims in recent years, including Tate, Courtauld Institute of Art, Victoria and Albert Museum, and Oxford’s Ashmolean Museum.