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| Swiss museum accepts part of Nazi art trove | Swiss museum accepts part of Nazi art trove |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A Swiss fine art museum is to accept the controversial collection of modernist masterpieces recently discovered in the home of a German recluse. | A Swiss fine art museum is to accept the controversial collection of modernist masterpieces recently discovered in the home of a German recluse. |
| The collection of Cornelius Gurlitt – hundreds of works amassed during the Nazi era, including paintings and drawings by Marc Chagall, Claude Monet and Pablo Picasso – will be given a new home in the Kunstmuseum Bern. | The collection of Cornelius Gurlitt – hundreds of works amassed during the Nazi era, including paintings and drawings by Marc Chagall, Claude Monet and Pablo Picasso – will be given a new home in the Kunstmuseum Bern. |
| But works from the collection whose rightful owners have yet to be identified will remain in Germany. | But works from the collection whose rightful owners have yet to be identified will remain in Germany. |
| Gurlitt was the son of an art dealer who was allowed to buy and sell works classified as “degenerate” by the Nazis. The works were discovered in his Munich flat in February 2012. He died, aged 81, this year and bequeathed the collection to the Swiss museum. But the bequest prompted legal wrangling between his heirs and the German authorities. | Gurlitt was the son of an art dealer who was allowed to buy and sell works classified as “degenerate” by the Nazis. The works were discovered in his Munich flat in February 2012. He died, aged 81, this year and bequeathed the collection to the Swiss museum. But the bequest prompted legal wrangling between his heirs and the German authorities. |
| Christoph Schäublin, the president of the Kunstmuseum, said that while the museum would accept the bequest, any works around which where there was a suspicion of looting would not be allowed in the museum. He said the museum would work closely with the German authorities to ensure works whose provenance was unclear were returned to their rightful owners. | Christoph Schäublin, the president of the Kunstmuseum, said that while the museum would accept the bequest, any works around which where there was a suspicion of looting would not be allowed in the museum. He said the museum would work closely with the German authorities to ensure works whose provenance was unclear were returned to their rightful owners. |
| Germany’s culture minister, Monika Grütters, said three works that had been identified as looted art by a specialist taskforce would be returned to their owners without delay. Henri Matisse’s Seated Woman, from 1921, would be returned to the heirs of the French collector Paul Rosenberg, and Max Liebermann’s Two Riders on the Beach, from 1901, would go to the descendant of the art dealer David Friedman. A third work, a sketch by Carl Spitzweg depicting a couple playing music, was revealed on Sunday to have been identified as a looted artwork. | Germany’s culture minister, Monika Grütters, said three works that had been identified as looted art by a specialist taskforce would be returned to their owners without delay. Henri Matisse’s Seated Woman, from 1921, would be returned to the heirs of the French collector Paul Rosenberg, and Max Liebermann’s Two Riders on the Beach, from 1901, would go to the descendant of the art dealer David Friedman. A third work, a sketch by Carl Spitzweg depicting a couple playing music, was revealed on Sunday to have been identified as a looted artwork. |
| Grütters said the decision was “a milestone in our attempts to come to terms with our history” of the Third Reich. | Grütters said the decision was “a milestone in our attempts to come to terms with our history” of the Third Reich. |
| Matthias Frehner, manager of the Kunstmuseum, told the Guardian that up to 500 works that Gurlitt’s father bought from the Nazis would be exhibited as soon as possible, probably next year. | Matthias Frehner, manager of the Kunstmuseum, told the Guardian that up to 500 works that Gurlitt’s father bought from the Nazis would be exhibited as soon as possible, probably next year. |
| • This article got updated at 1pm GMT on 24 November 2014 |