Photographers and other journalists show keen interest in the Gurlitt collection at Bern
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The Museum of Fine Arts in Bern offered the Swiss media on Friday its first opportunity to look over some of the controversial art in the collection of Cornelius Gurlitt, some of which was looted by Nazis during the Holocaust.
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Photographers clicked away and other journalists got to ask some questions at a press conference the museumExternal link held to mark the occasion. Among the selection shown to the news media was artwork by Otto Dix, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Franz Marc, August Macke and Otto Mueller.
The stash of fine art arrived in Bern a week late, due to problems getting past German customs. Most are works on paper representing aspects of symbolism, expressionism, constructivism and New Objectivity. Nearly 200 works of art from the Gurlitt collection have been scheduled to be shown to the public starting on November 2.
Gurlitt, whose father was one of Hitler’s art dealers, bequeathed a collection of 1,500 pieces of art to the Bernese museum in 2014. After a long legal battle, the museum won out over other possible Gurlitt heirs in December 2016. The museum also has been verifying the provenance of the artwork to ensure any plundered pieces are restored to their rightful owners.
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Inside the Gurlitt collection
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The collection includes paintings, sketches and prints, all handed down to Gurlitt from his art dealer father. It is valued at an estimated CHF1.23 billion ($1.4 billion). More than 200 of the paintings of inestimable value were the object of international search warrants issued long ago. (Pictures: AFP/Staatsanwaltschaft Augsburg)
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Heirs to looted Constable painting file lawsuit
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On Tuesday, the Municipal Council of La Chaux-de-Fonds in the Jura region confirmed to swissinfo.ch that the lawsuit had been filed, stating that city officials had not yet been formally notified of the case. Once they are notified, the city’s communications office indicated that officials would decide how to proceed, “weighing all the options, as…
Court action delays evaluation of Gurlitt art collection
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The museum confirmed on Tuesday that no progress could be made in reviewing the collection while a claim by Gurlitt’s cousin, Uta Werner, was pending in a Munich district court. Cornelius Gurlitt, the son of Nazi art dealer Hildebrand Gurlitt, died in April 2014, naming the museum the sole heir to the collection of more…
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here. Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.