Recent Legal Developments in Nazi Looted Art

On August 10, 2022, Governor Kathy Hochul signed legislation requiring New York museums to label Nazi-looted art in their collections. In 2022, over 75 years after the end of WWII, as reflected in litigation dockets nationwide, the pursuit of Nazi looted art is still very much relevant. On December 15, 2022, the Holocaust Expropriated Art Recovery Act’s (“HEAR Act”) extension of statutes of limitations for certain claims known prior to December 16, 2016 will expire.

Purchase for a timely presentation on Nazi looted art, a problem resulting from one of history’s greatest thefts. Hear about the legacy that it has left to our nation's museums and cultural institutions.

Eileen Brankovic, International Business Director and Vice President of Christie’s auction house will give a global overview of Christie’s restitution efforts and provide insights for legal practitioners seeking to advise families of Holocaust victims as well as current holders of objects that may have been spoliated during the Nazi-era.

The Honorable Timothy Reif of the United States Court of International Trade will share his family’s journey in the groundbreaking case of Reif v. Nagy and recount his family’s decades-long efforts to recover artworks stolen from his great-uncle Fritz Grunbaum, a legendary Viennese cabaret performer. Judge Reif and his family asked then-District Attorney Morgenthau’s office to seize two Egon Schiele artworks at MoMA in 1998. Morgenthau’s 1998 seizure led to worldwide controversy, the Washington Conference on Nazi-Confiscated Art, and substantial legal reform in countries around the world.

Raymond J. Dowd will recount a dramatic seizure of artworks at the Park Avenue Armory in New York City from the booth of a London art dealer and how his legal team stopped the artworks from leaving the country at JFK airport. Dowd will explore the history behind the uniquely American insistence on returning the stolen property to Holocaust victims, which is based directly on the successful treaty negotiations secured by the Allied Victory in World War II. That American insistence was based on ideals first presented by President Lincoln in his April, 1863 Lieber Code Executive Order to take the profit out of war, and later incorporated into international law by the 1899 and 1907 Hague Conventions. This international law formed the basis for the Nuremberg Trials. Key recent cases in the U.S. Supreme Court, New York Court of Appeals, and federal appeals courts will be surveyed.

Sam Blaustein will recount a dramatic seizure of artworks at the Park Avenue Armory in New York City from the booth of a London art dealer and how his legal team stopped the artworks from leaving the country at JFK airport.

Purchase now for a captivating, entertaining, and most importantly, thought-provoking look at how and why families continue to work to reclaim artwork that was stolen by the Nazis during WWII.