NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) – Seven pieces of Nazi looted art were returned to the relatives of a Holocaust victim, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin L. Bragg, Jr. announced on Wednesday.
The Holocaust survivor Fritz Grünbaum was an Austrian-Jewish cabaret performer whose art collection was stolen by the Nazi regime.
The drawings, all from Austrian artist Egon Schiele were seized earlier this year by the Office's Antiquities Trafficking Unit from the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA); The Ronald Lauder Collection; The Morgan Library; The Santa Barbara Museum of Art (SBMA); and the Vally Sabarsky Trust in Manhattan.
All seven pieces were voluntarily surrendered by the institutions after they were proven to have been stolen by the Nazis.
According to the evidence Grünbaum had many artworks, including over 80 Egon Schiele drawings. In 1938, when the Nazis took control of Austria, they arrested him. While he was in prison, they made him sign a power of attorney in favor of his wife, Elisabeth Grünbaum. Later, she had to give his entire art collection to the Nazis.
“We still have so much to learn from Fritz Grünbaum and these seven pieces that he found to be so beautiful. The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office is proud to have played a role in remembering his legacy,” said District Attorney Bragg.
The pieces being returned include: 'I Love Antithesis,' 'Standing Woman,' 'Girl Putting on Shoe,' 'Self Portrait,' 'Portrait of the Artist’s Wife, Edith,' 'Portrait of a Boy,' and 'Seated Woman.'