UPDATE: Artwork Stolen By Nazis Removed From Auction
Image by Antoine Antoniol / Getty Images
Recently, it was reported that artwork stolen by the Nazis that was slated to go up for auction in Austria despite legal (and moral) claims from the rightful owners. Well, today, it has been reported by Artnet that the “owner” of the painting has withdrawn the work from “just hours before the auction was due to begin.” According to the report, Im Kinsky, the auction house hosting the sale, gave a bit of a non-statement on the withdrawal, saying “The decision came today. It is the right of any owner to withdraw his art object for whatever reason also shortly before an auction. He is not obliged to give an argument and we are not in the position to forward any.” The painting had previously been withdrawn from a French auction because of its status as a looted work, but in Austria, as long as an artwork is purchased “in good faith,” then the sale, and ownership of the work is perfectly legal.
A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
