Judge Rules In Favor of Museum of Fine Arts, Boston Regarding Oskar Kokoschka Nudes |
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| Written by rubin |
| Sunday, 31 May 2009 03:22 |
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In her May 28, 2009 Memorandum of Decision and Order in Museum of Fine Arts, Boston v. Seger-Thomschitz, No. 08-10097-RWZ (D. Mass.), Judge Zobel ruled in favor of the Museum, holding that no claim to the painting could be made by Dr. Seger-Thomschitz. The Judge held that because Oskar Reichel’s family could have sought restitution of the painting decades ago (had they believed there was any reason to challenge the 1939 transaction), the applicable statute of limitations barred any claim now. Judge Zobel also held that Dr. Seger-Thomschitz herself waited too long to bring a claim after learning she might have rights to property previously owned by Oskar Reichel. Judge Zobel stated in her ruling that: “We are pleased with the court’s ruling acknowledging the MFA’s clear title to the painting,” said Malcolm Rogers, Ann and Graham Gund Director of the MFA. “The MFA conducted a year and a half long comprehensive investigation of the work’s provenance, seeking documentation of the various transactions and changes of ownership in the painting’s almost 100-year history. We are satisfied and grateful that the judge has reaffirmed the Museum’s rightful ownership of the work.” Background: Two Nudes (Lovers) is a self portrait of Austrian artist Oskar Kokoschka (1886–1980) and his lover, Alma Mahler (the widow of the great composer Gustav Mahler). The artist painted the work in Vienna, Austria, about 1913, then sold it around 1914–15 to Oskar Reichel, who lent the painting to numerous exhibitions. In the 1920s and 1930s, Reichel consigned Two Nudes (Lovers) for sale to Otto Kallir-Nirenstein (later known as Otto Kallir), on several occasions. Kallir was, at that time, the owner of the Neue Galerie in Vienna. In 1938, Kallir emigrated to Paris, where he opened the Galerie St. Etienne. In February 1939, Reichel transferred the painting—along with four other Kokoschka works—to Kallir, who later brought the paintings to the United States and sent money for them to Reichel’s two sons, Raimund and Hans, who were living in South America and the United States. According to the MFA’s extensive provenance research, there was no evidence that Two Nudes (Lovers) was confiscated or looted by the Nazis. In New York, Kallir opened a branch of his Paris gallery. He sold Two Nudes (Lovers) to another gallery in New York, after which the painting was bought by a third gallery there. The painting was then sold to Sarah Reed Blodgett (known later as Sarah Reed Platt) in late 1947 or early 1948. The MFA was given the painting in 1973 as a bequest from Blodgett’s estate. Since then, the work has been included in multiple publications and been on display almost continuously at the MFA (where it is currently on view in the Rabb Gallery). Reichel died of natural causes in Vienna in 1943 at the age of 74. In June 1957, a Viennese lawyer representing Reichel’s son, Raimund Reichel, submitted an application to the Austrian authorities of the Fund for Assistance to Political Persecutees, on behalf of himself and his brother Hans. The application included a notarized statement by Raimund asserting that a large art collection [owned by my father] was sold by force: 47 pictures by the painter Anton Romako.‖ Raimund never asserted a claim concerning any painting by Kokoschka, including Two Nudes (Lovers), or otherwise sought to invalidate the transfer of the painting to Kallir. Raimund died in Vienna in 1997. In March 2007, more than 68 years after the sale of the painting by Reichel, Dr. Seger-Thomschitz, of Vienna, identified by her counsel as a non-relative select niece‖ of Raimund Reichel, made a claim of restitution against the Museum. Provenance Research: Following this March 2007 claim, the MFA thoroughly reviewed the claim to Two Nudes (Lovers) in accordance with its own Acquisitions Policy as well as the guidelines set forth by the American Association of Museums (AAM), the Association of Art Museum Directors (AAMD), and the Washington Principles of 1998 on Nazi-Confiscated Art. The Museum is committed to determining, on an ongoing basis, whether any work of art in its collection has ever been stolen, confiscated, looted, or otherwise unlawfully appropriated as a result of Nazi persecution without subsequent restitution. A leader in provenance research, the MFA makes ownership information available to the public through its website, mfa.org. During the past decade, the Museum has restituted a number of works of art to their rightful owners based on provenance research. Click on logo below to add this article to your favorite Social Website ~ |
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