If you haven’t been following international art news lately, then you may be in for a surprise. Â An on-going investigation of looted art (presumably stolen and stored by Nazis) has revealed almost 1500 pieces of art that belong to one man. Â Cornelius Gurlitt was the son of an art dealer commissioned to sell most of the works looted by Nazis.
Authorities recently seized his collection, but according to a German statute of limitations, his years of ownership make the art un-seizable. Â In other words, Gurlitt has a right to keep every last piece if he wants to.
Is this a case of ‘finders keepers’ gone wrong?
In terms of precious cultural pieces, I have always been of the Indiana Jones mindset that ‘it belongs in a museum‘, whatever “it” may be.  In this case, there is a lot of it.  1500 paintings by artists like Marc Chagall, Max Beckmann and Otto Dix are purported to be in Gurlitt’s collection.
A big question on most people’s mind is “Where did all of the paintings come from?” Â Police believe they were looted or bought off of Jewish families during WWII, but their provenance remains a mystery and isn’t likely to be something that Gurlitt will reveal any time soon.
Gurlitt I don’t know how this case will end.  In an interview with German magazine Der Spiegel, the reclusive and obstinate art collector said “I won’t voluntarily give back anything, no, no,” and that “When I’m dead, they can do with them what they want.”  This does not bode well for the art community, the German people, and especially the Jewish families who lost such precious pieces.
Even if the provenance was traceable, that is a lot of art to trace. Â My suggestion and my hope is that someday a special art collection at a German museum will be established as a memorial to the families who lost these pieces. Â The displays of art can be a reminder not only of the lost beauty from these personal collectors, but also the lost humanity in times of war.
Sources:Â http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/style-blog/wp/2013/11/17/german-collector-wont-give-art-to-anyone-report-says/
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2013/11/18/german-collector-says-hid-art-trove-out-love-wants-collection-back/
