Nazi Stolen Art

Germany Government has called a crisis meeting today about how to deal with art that was sold by, or confiscated from, Jews under the Nazis, due to the controversy over paintings restored to their original families only to be auctioned for vast sums abroad. The Chancellor, Angela Merkel, has summoned culture ministers and museum directors to discuss an overhaul of the restitution law, which critics say is stripping museums of important works. Under the restitution law, paintings and sculptures that were parted with under duress must be returned to their owners or their heirs. But a heated debate over the way the law is operating was fueled last week by two dramatic developments: the sale of an important expressionist work for a record price in New York, and an attempt through the courts to block the auction of a Picasso, owned by the Andrew Lloyd Webber Art Foundation. Private collectors who spend millions on art are buying out museums' artworks like those of Picasso and Gustav Klimt, for their personal galleries. Many art lovers are complaining now that the artwork is no longer available for public view and this commercial trade is taking away from the German heritage. "Berlin Street Scene" by Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, was auctioned by Christie's for $US38 million ($49 million), just months after it was removed from a Berlin museum and returned to a granddaughter of its original Jewish owners - Anita Halpin, chairman of the Communist Party of Great Britain. Through the auction house she sold it to Ron Lauder, heir to the Estee Lauder cosmetics empire, who intends to display the painting at his Neue Gallery in New York.

-Maddy

P.S. Sorry this is so late, was out of town.