Last winter, Leila Amineddoleh authored an article about Nazi-looted art, the Monuments Men, and the “Gurlitt Collection” for the NY State Bar Association. The piece examined legal issues related to the art objects in Cornelius Gurlitt’s collection of legally acquired, and looted, art, in addition to a broader examination of statute of limitations issues related to Nazi-loot. Leila’s article was updated twice due to advancements in the case.
Last spring, after Mr. Gurlitt’s death, it was announced that he left his collection to the Kunstmuseum Bern. The museum was given six months to accept the gift. In November, mere days before the museum made its announcements, an estate issue arose. Uta Werner, Mr. Gurlitt’s 86-year-old cousin, applied to the Munich Probate Court for a certificate of inheritance for his estate, provoked by a psychological report concerning Mr. Gurlitt’s limited mental capacity at the time of the drafting of his will. The president of the German Forum for Inheritance Law noted that there were indications that Mr. Gurlitt was a “misfit” suffering from delusions. Ms. Werner has articulated that if she succeeds on her ownership claims, she intends to restitute Nazi-looted items to their rightful owners, as determined by a court. The Kunstmuseum Bern addressed the delay in a statement earlier this month,
“At its last meeting, the Board of Trustees of the Kunstmuseum Bern categorically resolved that it will establish a “Gurlitt” research body and defined its tasks and structure. However, this decision can only first be implemented when the pending application of Cornelius Gurlitt’s cousin for a certificate of inheritance has been probated in Munich. The Board of Trustees regrets this delay, in particular because it will impede the settlement of restitution cases that have already been clarified and endorsed by the Kunstmuseum Bern, but the circumstances are beyond its control.”
In the meantime, representatives of the rightful owners are optimistic that restitution will begin before estate issues are resolved. Christopher Marinello, an attorney for the Rosenberg family (the family owned a Matisse painting in Gurlitt’s collection that Cornelius Gurlitt had agreed to return), expects “an expeditious restitution over the next few weeks.”
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2434205