Stolen Holocaust-Era Artwork Returns to Heirs After 17-Year Battle
In a significant development, artwork believed to have been stolen during the Holocaust has been rightfully returned to the heirs of a Jewish art collector and entertainer. This momentous return comes after a lengthy 17-year legal struggle involving Oberlin College.
The Nazis originally pilfered the artwork, “Girl With Black Hair,” created by Austrian Expressionist Egon Schiele, from Fritz Grünbaum, a well-known Jewish art collector and cabaret artist during their confiscation of Jewish property. Tragically, Grünbaum perished at the Dachau concentration camp in Germany in 1941.
The Allen Memorial Art Museum at Oberlin College in Ohio houses an extensive collection of over 15,000 items, including the notorious “Girl With Black Hair,” which had been part of their holdings for several decades.
This specific artwork, subject to a criminal seizure warrant issued by the Manhattan District Attorney’s office, was initially procured by the museum in the late 1950s from an art dealer in Paris. It should be noted that such postwar European acquisitions should have raised concerns about the art’s provenance, given the history of Nazi looted art.
The Equal Protection Project (EPP), operating under the Legal Insurrection Foundation, played a pivotal role in this recovery. William Jacobson, President of the Legal Insurrection Foundation, revealed that Oberlin College had been alerted to the stolen piece by Grünbaum’s family no later than 2006.
Court records affirm the college’s resistance to returning the artwork in 2006 and again in 2009, despite pleas from Grünbaum’s family.
The turning point came in 2016 when Congress passed the Holocaust Expropriated Art Recovery Act (HEAR Act), offering victims of Nazi-era persecution and their descendants the opportunity to reclaim stolen art. Grünbaum’s family filed a lawsuit against Oberlin in 2022, leading to an ongoing legal battle.
In September, the Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office served a criminal seizure warrant to take possession of the disputed artwork, believing it to be stolen property. This action stemmed from the artwork’s association with Manhattan art dealers at some point.
Oberlin College had maintained their claim on the artwork for 17 years, asserting its lawful ownership until the issuance of the criminal warrant. Only then did the college decide to relinquish it.
Recently, the college announced its intent to voluntarily return the artwork to the Grünbaum family, putting an end to the protracted dispute.
Oberlin College defended its position, stating it had thoroughly investigated the artwork’s history, concluding it had been lawfully acquired in 1958. Charles Parkhurst, the museum’s director at the time, had a reputation for recovering art looted by Nazis during WWII, making it inconceivable that he would knowingly acquire stolen artwork.
The college attributed its change of heart to the Manhattan District Attorney’s ongoing investigation, expressing the hope that the return of the drawing would bring some closure to the Grünbaum family.
This incident drew attention due to Oberlin College’s image as a progressive institution that has voluntarily returned other culturally significant items, such as a Native American craft, to their rightful owners. The contrast between the treatment of the Nez Perce tribe and the Grünbaum family highlights the complexity of such moral and legal battles.
As of the time of writing, the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office had not responded to requests for comment.