HEIRS - Observations on Provenance

DEAR LIZ TAYLOR

A Letter from Fern Smiley

Elizabeth Taylor
c/o Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation
P.O. Box 55995
Sherman Oaks, CA 91413-0995

To the Great Actress - Elizabeth Taylor - born in London in 1932:

You are the same age as my mother would have been (see May 9, 2007 Bat Annette posting) and there are some who have said that she held a remarkable resemblance to you (see picture at right). I also know that you are the daughter of an Art Dealer father of Scottish Descent who lived in Kansas City, Missouri and your mother was a Rosemond, also of American-Scottish descent.

In the thirties, your parents moved to England, where you were born. You and your mother left to Hollywood just on the verge of WWII. Your father, Francis, stayed behind. Since your father was a professional Art Dealer, it may be possible that he purchased and sold art treasures previously owned by Jews. This would have been art that was sold at auctions in Germany under duress between 1933 and 1939. This art would have come into Britain any time after 1933, imported by Dealers who were known as reputable. I tend to  believe, however, that they were tainted by persecution and desperation.

Even though he was in Britain, or perhaps Scotland, to trade, Francis A. Taylor would have been aware that the paintings and drawings streaming out of Europe were being sold at fire sale prices. Yet, they were likely legal to purchase, and extraordinary bargains at that; especially at the source in auction houses Germany and Austria, at least until Sept 1,1939 when Britain declared war.

Britain Moves Forward

UK's Restitution Bill Becomes Law

On 27 October 2009 the UK's Holocaust (Return of Cultural Objects) Bill 2008-09 passed unopposed through the third and final reading in the House of Lords, having successfully passed through the House of Commons on 26 June 2009. The bill will now be granted Royal Assent and become law. The Bill will enable restitution of Nazi-looted works of art from all UK museums.

On Why Nazi Looted Art Should Be Restituted

Baroness Deech

(seated, far left)

In the House of Lords Second Reading of the UK's Holocaust (Return of Cultural Objects) Bill, 10 July 2009, Baroness Deech, spoke eloquently of why Nazi looted art should be restituted:

"Art is an ethical issue. Displaying looted art, once it is known to be such, is not just an invasion of privacy and a demonstration that wrongdoers may indeed profit from their crimes; it is also putting on show something that the owners never meant to be seen in such circumstances. It has ceased to be an object of beauty and one that museums can be proud of or use for educational and aesthetic aims. The spectator cannot look at it without seeing the pain and betrayal that led it to be situated there in a national museum. It taints the spectators who knowingly take advantage of the presence of the picture there and it speaks to them of loss and war, not creativity and insight. It is a well known principle in physics that the act of observation changes the object observed and there is something of that principle in our viewing of looted art."

THE INDEPENDENT’S ODD OMMISION

I was disheartened when Andrew Johnson oddly omitted an integral part
of the story in his review of Nancy Yeide's book on Goering's
Collection. Certainly, Goering did not steal everything in his now
documented collection, but nowhere in the story does Johnson point out
that most of the actual theft victims were Jewish, like Paul
Rosenberg, for instance.

We have a great duty to remember the
Holocaust when looking at Goering's collection. It contained many major
works that were taken during the Holocaust from Jewish owners and
collectors.

Just like this one.

Still Life With Sleeping Woman, Matisse

THE SHADOW KNOWS

The Irish Times today responded to the Simon Wiesenthal  press release sent yesterday to unveil an investigative report written by Irish Museum consultant  Erin Gibbons .

It is a report the Hunt Museum would rather not read as it once again casts suspicion or 'shadows' on the Hunt Collection's sources and provenances. Published yesterday, The Hunt Controversy, a Shadow Report takes issue with media reports that said the earlier reports "cleared" the Hunts of dealing in wartime loot.

In The Hunt Controversy,  Ms Gibbons says the concerns of the Wiesenthal Centre appear legitimate and measured. In her 165-page report, Ms Gibbons re-examines the military files and points to what she says are shortcomings in the two reports.

In addition, the report investigates connections of the Hunt family with Ireland- based Nazi Chief Adolf Mahr, pro Hitler aristocrats in the United Kingdom; a series of dealers in looted art; the Allied strategic trans-Atlantic flying-boat station in County Limerick: Jewish art dealers in Germany, desperate to get to neutral Ireland- it sounds like a detective novel.

Ms Gibbons said a full independent investigation was necessary to establish the provenance of the 2,000 objects on display in the Limerick museum.

I could have sworn that is EXACTLY what Lynn Nicholas recommended in her report- But I must have read the one that the rest of the media deleted from their coverage of that story.

 

HUNT MUSEUM PART III

The press has been reporting and editorializing about the Hunt Museum and Wiesenthal Centre of late. And although this has been over three months since I last posted, it is exactly where I left off.

It will be another few months until the Wiesenthal Centre's own dossier on the Hunt collection will be made public.

The Director of the Wiesenthal Centre has warned that it will be an eye opener.

 

   

THE DECORATOR, IN THE BUTE HOUSE WITH THE CHANDELIER

PART 2 - THE HUNT FOR THE HUNT COLLECTION PROVENANCE

What has this chandelier have to do with The Hunt Museum?

"The chandelier has a fascinating history: During the last war, Felix Harbord, the interior decorator who helped Lady Bute with the arrangement her family homes, was serving in the Forces and was charged with repatriating works of art. One day, he came upon this chandelier abandoned in one of the streets of Cleves (Germany) and had it packed in empty munitions boxes, which he addressed to No. 6 Charlotte Square. She (Lady Bute) always ensured that the Drawing Room curtains were left open at night, so that passers-by could share her enjoyment in the chandelier's unexpected arrival."
(From Welcome to Bute House - the official residence of the First Minister of Scotland, and one of the finest examples of Georgian architecture in the heart of Edinburgh.)

Felix Harbord also appears in a Irish Military archive file regarding the wartime activities of the Hunts. Expert L. Nicholas writes, "The Hunt Military file also contains a letter, dated November 4, 1940/1? from John Hunt to R.A. Masters, Esq, which refers to business dealings with Felix Harbord, a decorator and dealer who worked both in England and Ireland before and after the war." 

Harbord was posted as a Monuments and Fine Arts Officer at the British Collecting Point at Schloss Celle near Hanover. Some time after he left that post it was discovered that many of the hundreds of cases of recovered art objects stored in the Collecting Point had been rifled. The thefts were the subject of an investigation by the British authorities.

".. the records of this investigation and the records of the Collecting Point should be examined  to see if  any of the missing objects could be matched to those in the Museum.  ...allegations that Felix Harbord took objects from the Collecting Point and sold them should also be documented"

By whom? Now that the press has cleared the Hunts, the will to find out the truth behind each provenance is diminished.

Lynn Nicholas examined the documents in the Irish Military File for the “smoking gun” to looted art and Nazi connections and found no hard evidence; just 30 pages of circumstantial, red flags - some of which she advised should be explored further. I am at a loss as to why the buck stopped there. Lynn advises the continuation of research instead of undertaking it herself.

She acknowledges that the singular effort of the museum director, Virginia Teehan was unfinished.

The existing data hardly exonerates the Hunts. Their wartime purchases still are completely and mysteriously bereft of ownership history.

As Nicholas herself writes, “For most of the objects in the collection, there is essentially no provenance at all. The lack of documentation was a matter of great concern both to the present director and to her predecessor”

And to Lynn Nicholas as well, as she implores, “Highest priority should, therefore, be given to continued provenance research” But the press missed this "Highest priority" altogether in their reporting of the case.

THE HUNT FOR THE HUNT’S MISSING PROVENANCES Part I

Part I
According to the Associated Press- http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,,-6957061,00.html-  

The Hunt Museum in Limerick, Ireland was absolved last week of all accusations looming against it that that its founders were Nazi spies who bought art works from dealers trafficking in items stolen during the Holocaust. Those strong allegations against founders John Hunt and his German wife Gertrude were first made in 2003 by the Paris-based Centre Simon Wiesenthal (CSW) in a public letter to Irish President Mary McAleese.

As a result of the highly sensitive nature of the allegations, The Irish Academy retained WWII-era researcher and writer of Rape of Europa (currently in film release) Lynn Nicholas. She analyzed the methodology of the group investigating the Hunt Museum, responded to the criticisms of Centre Simon Wiesenthal and suggested further action in her August 8, 2007 report. 

Even though the Irish Academy formally cleared The Hunt Museum with the release of Nicholas’ Report, Shimon Samuels maintains his position and is quoted as saying, that, as far as he was concerned, “The show is not over.''

What could Shimon know that we don’t know?

Didn’t Lynn Nicholas clear The Hunt Museum of doing anything wrong as the AP reported?

"This does not to me give a clean bill of health to the Hunt Museum,'' Samuels said of the report. "I do not feel the research has been exhaustive or complete, basically due to the fact that we were denied access to the archive and to the entire process.'' 

She did castigate the Centre Simon Wiesenthal (CSW) for several things:

In 2003, Dr. Shimon Samuels of the CSW wrote an open letter that Nicholas describes as “confrontational and personally offensive”. Dr Samuels suggested that the provenance of some of the material in the museum was suspect. Also, he claimed that the Hunts had links with Nazis and colloborationists dealers in art objects looted during World War II. Although Nicholas acknowledges, “the discovery of a ‘red flag’ dealer’s name associated with an art collection is certainly a valid reason for an inquiry”, she berates the tactics used in the pursuit of truth about the Hunt collection. In a scathing rebuke, Nicholas admonishes Dr. Samuels’ “sensational and calculated manner” in which he announced his suspicions.

It is her opinion, although the Hunts happen to be very close friends and business associates with notorious art dealer collaborators like Alexander Von Frey, it doesn’t necessarily prove they dealt in looted art (it was through the von Freys that Mrs. Hunt communicated with her mother, who remained in Germany during the war).  Nicholas examined three letters that exposed the connection of Hunt to the Freys and while they themselves lack proof to identify specific stolen works, their existence absolutely demands the need  for further research . Dr. Samuels said of the most recent report, "I do not feel the research has been exhaustive or complete." 

Nicholas  writes the letters  do not refer to sales of works from the war, only "pre-war" transactions. But even "pre-war" may mean problematic sales/dealings if the period stems from 1933-1939; a time now acknowledged to identify the Holocaust-era as a basis for claims.

It is Nicholas' opinion that since the private and professional lives of freelance dealers such as the Hunts cannot really be separated, any information that exists on the their wartime pursuits in Irish Military Files should have been voluntarily shared.

Nicholas harshly criticizes Samuels’ for keeping back this documentation and holding it close as “challenging the authorities .. a sort of blackmail game”. The Hunt Museum Evaluation Group, on the other hand, is excused for suppressing the identical file for reasons attributable to “intra-Irish politics”. But Irish web author Sean Murphy wrote about the group,"...it seemed to the present writer that the (Evaluation Group) group was being rather optimistic in its conclusion, and had not dug deeply enough." They were certainly aware of the existence of the Military Archive file. Nicholas admitted that. But she lightly pronounced as "misguided" the Group's suppression of the contents of the Military File in its own formal report.

That report was delivered in June 2006, at The Royal Irish Academy symposium on looted art closed to Dr. Samuels and the Centre Wiesenthal. Disaster struck in the form of Irish Military file G2/4371- Mr and Mrs Hunt being publicly exposed by a museum official in the audience. It was Eamonn Kelly, Keeper of Antiquities National Museum of Ireland. Kelly also happens to be married to Erin Gibbons, the Hunt Museum art researcher, who shared her concerns about the complete lack of provenances in the Hunt Museum collection with the Wiesenthal Centre  in 2003. These concerns, coupled with Hunt Museum's unpublished scholarship which raises questions about the "dodgy" milieu of art dealings in war and post-war Europe (when the Hunt's were dealers), gave The Wiesenthal Institute the impetus to demand an inquiry.

With respect to  answers, the Nicholas' Report is most interesting in that it raises even more red flags on the Collection than ever before.

But the press doesn't report  Nicholas' calls and recommendations for further research. So, although the Press has cleared the Hunt Museum, research and investigation will continue... and the truth will emerge.

NEW YEAR EPHEMERA

This Jewish New Year card circulated almost 60 years ago, in an orphanage in post- war Germany and given to Chanka Polosieca.

 

She was my mother.

PRAGUE RETURNS TO MEMORY

Czech News Agency-

The Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague has issued the book "Returns of Memory," mapping the history of Jewish items in its depositories that come from the property of Jews deported to concentration camps during WW2, museum director Helena Koenigsmarkova said at the book's presentation today.

The museum has revived its collections in cooperation with other researchers and has identified a part of the Jewish items' original owners. Some of the works are part of the museum's permanent display.

The project was prepared by the Documentation Centre of Property Transfers of Cultural Assets of WWII Victims and the Contemporary History Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences.

The centre, established in 2001, is trying to clarify historical and economic questions around the "Aryanisation," that is the expropriation of Jewish property on racial grounds in the Nazi era. The centre also studies archive sources and depositories of museums and galleries.

Last year, the government extended the centre's work until the end of 2011.

Pavel Jirasek from the centre said the new book is important as it summarises a comprehensive research of one of the largest museums in the Czech Republic and it focuses on decorative art items the identification of which is more complicated than in the case of works of art that are usually registered more thoroughly.

Helena Krejcova, one of the book's authors, noted that similar research is being carried out in the National Gallery and the National Museum plans it, too.

Jirasek pointed out that the steps by Czech culture institutions and the Contemporary History Institute to redress property wrongs from the past set up trend that other countries have also adopted.

Konigsmarkova, however, recalled that over 60 years after the war there are still a number of "unclear acquisitions" in Czech state museums that may originate from the confiscated Jewish property.

Jirasek said Czech state institutions to date possess a lot of of artifacts that could be theoretically returned to the descendants of the Holocaust victims.

The website, prepared by the Culture Ministry along with the Moravian Land Museum, registers almost 7,000 items  from state collections in the Czech Republic that originate or may come from the property of the Holocaust victims and whose original owners were mostly killed by the Nazis.

The Museum of Decorative Arts in Prague collects and preserves for future generations — in both national and international contexts — examples of historical and contemporary crafts, as well as applied arts and design.

Allegorical Figure with a Nautilus cup representing Industrial Arts
Designed by Josef Schulz, executed by J. Škarda

Stained glass window on the landing above the first floor

RECOVERY AND COMPENSATION REPAYMENT

Anita Halpern recovered her ancestor's artwork after returning the compensation: See my blogpost THE CASE FOR RESTITUTION

Marilyn Henry is a writer who unravels the most complex aspects of Holocaust restitution in a straightforward way.

In her OPINION   for the Jerusalem Post she offers the art world a source for deeper provenance checking- the records of compensation data belonging to the German government.

These official  German claimant records reflect those artworks that were lost and for which compensation was (in most cases)  granted.

So isn’t this a “case closed” scenario?

NO. Owners who are alive or their heirs may still have rights to them, since the taint of theft has never been erased.