All eyes last month were on the big art auctions in New York. But for museums in the US and the Netherlands, it was the historical market that was making waves. At the centre were the Dutch government and the estates of two Dutch Jewish art dealers: Nathan Katz and Jacques Goudstikker.
Goudstikker, a dealer in old masters, was murdered while fleeing the Nazis. His inventory was seized but later returned to the Dutch government. It made several reparations in the postwar era but most of the works ended up in museums.
In 2006, Marei von Saher, Goudstikker's heir, secured 202 works from the museums, many of which were subsequently sold at Christie's. Now Katz's heirs are pursuing a similar claim for 227 works currently in Dutch museums.
Meanwhile, in New York, cosmetics mogul Ronald Lauder's Neue Galerie has come under pressure to publish the provenance of its collection, including several Klimts. Lauder, who bought the so-called "Golden Portrait" of Adele Bloch-Bauer from another successful restitution claimant, has agreed to research the collection.
The only museum heaving a (temporary) sigh of relief is the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena, which is being pursued by the Goudstikker heirs over two spectacular Cranach panels that passed through the gallery.
It was judged that the statute of limitations had run out for claims, but von Saher is preparing a complex appeal.
While the loss of these works from public collections is an issue in itself (most are likely to end up on the market), museums in the Netherlands and US are realising that historical wrongs have a nasty habit of coming back to haunt them.
Jane Morris is an arts journalist and editor
Goudstikker, a dealer in old masters, was murdered while fleeing the Nazis. His inventory was seized but later returned to the Dutch government. It made several reparations in the postwar era but most of the works ended up in museums.
In 2006, Marei von Saher, Goudstikker's heir, secured 202 works from the museums, many of which were subsequently sold at Christie's. Now Katz's heirs are pursuing a similar claim for 227 works currently in Dutch museums.
Meanwhile, in New York, cosmetics mogul Ronald Lauder's Neue Galerie has come under pressure to publish the provenance of its collection, including several Klimts. Lauder, who bought the so-called "Golden Portrait" of Adele Bloch-Bauer from another successful restitution claimant, has agreed to research the collection.
The only museum heaving a (temporary) sigh of relief is the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena, which is being pursued by the Goudstikker heirs over two spectacular Cranach panels that passed through the gallery.
It was judged that the statute of limitations had run out for claims, but von Saher is preparing a complex appeal.
While the loss of these works from public collections is an issue in itself (most are likely to end up on the market), museums in the Netherlands and US are realising that historical wrongs have a nasty habit of coming back to haunt them.
Jane Morris is an arts journalist and editor
