US authorities return seven works of art stolen by Nazis
This photo illustration created in Los Angeles, California, on September 13, 2023, shows a person looking on a computer screen at artwork by Austrian Expressionist Egon Schiele entitled "Russian War Prisoner" (L), "Portrait of a Man" (R) and "Girl With Black Hair" (top), which were seized by investigators after the Manhattan district attorneys office issued warrants. US authorities seized three artworks sought by the heirs of a Jewish art collector who died in the Holocaust, officials said on September 14, 2023. They confirmed a story in The New York Times that said New York investigators had taken these works by the 1900s Austrian expressionist Egon Schiele from three museums throughout the country. In warrants issued September 12, 2023, and seen by AFP, the New York state supreme court said "there is reasonable cause to believe" the works constitute stolen property. Photo by Chris DELMAS / AFP
New York authorities announced on Wednesday the return of $9 million in art stolen by the Nazi regime to the family of Fritz Grunbaum, an Austrian Jewish cabaret performer killed in the Holocaust.
The seven drawings, all from Austrian artist Egon Schiele, were "voluntarily surrendered by the holding institutions and estates," including New York's famous Museum of Modern Art, "after they were presented with evidence that they were stolen by the Nazis," the Manhattan District Attorney's office said in a statement.
The move comes as a victory for Grunbaum's heirs, who have been fighting for the art's return for years.
Grunbaum died at the Dachau concentration camp in 1941.
"I hope this moment can serve as a reminder that despite the horrific death and destruction caused by the Nazis, it is never too late to recover some of what we lost (and) honor the victims," District Attorney Alvin Bragg said in a statement.
Timothy Reif, a judge and one of Grunbaum's relatives, thanked authorities for having "succeeded in solving crimes perpetrated over 80 years ago."
"Their righteous and courageous collaboration in the pursuit of justice — unique among prosecutors and law enforcement in this entire nation, if not the world — shine a bright light for all to follow."
As of June, Bragg's office had returned more than 950 looted or improperly acquired pieces of art worth $165 million, to countries including Cambodia, Pakistan, Egypt, Turkey and Italy.
'Degenerate'
The seven Schiele drawings were seized by the office's Antiquities Tracking Unit earlier this year, from the Museum of Modern Art, The Ronald Lauder Collection, The Morgan Library, The Santa Barbara Museum of Art and the Vally Sabarsky Trust in Manhattan.
The works by Schiele, an Austrian expressionist artist, are valued between $780,000 and $2.75 million each, with the district attorney's office estimating their total value at more than $9 million.