Nazi-looted Art And The Law: The American Cases
by Bruce L. Hay /
2017 / English / PDF
4.1 MB Download
This book offers a clear, accessible account of the American
litigation over the restitution of works of art taken from
Jewish families during the Holocaust. For the past two
decades, the courts of the United States have been an arena
of conflict over this issue that has recently captured
widespread public attention. In a series of cases, survivors
and heirs have come forward to claim artworks in public and
private collections around the world, asserting that they
were seized by the Nazis or were sold under duress by owners
desperate to escape occupied countries. Spanning two
continents and three-quarters of a century, the cases
confront the courts with complex problems of domestic and
international law, clashes among the laws of different
jurisdictions, factual uncertainties about the movements of
art during and after the war, and the persistent question
whether restitution claims have been extinguished by the
passage of time.
This book offers a clear, accessible account of the American
litigation over the restitution of works of art taken from
Jewish families during the Holocaust. For the past two
decades, the courts of the United States have been an arena
of conflict over this issue that has recently captured
widespread public attention. In a series of cases, survivors
and heirs have come forward to claim artworks in public and
private collections around the world, asserting that they
were seized by the Nazis or were sold under duress by owners
desperate to escape occupied countries. Spanning two
continents and three-quarters of a century, the cases
confront the courts with complex problems of domestic and
international law, clashes among the laws of different
jurisdictions, factual uncertainties about the movements of
art during and after the war, and the persistent question
whether restitution claims have been extinguished by the
passage of time.
Through individual case studies, the book examines the legal
questions these conflicts have raised and the answers the
courts have given. From the internationally celebrated “Woman
in Gold” lawsuit against Austria to lesser-known claims
against Germany, Hungary, Spain, and museums and private
collections in the United States, the book synthesizes the
legal and evidentiary materials and judicial rulings in each
case, creating a coherent narrative of proceedings that are
often labyrinthine in complexity. Written by a leading
authority on litigation and procedure, the book will be of
interest to readers in various fields of the humanities and
social sciences as well as law, and to anyone interested in
the fate of artworks that have been called the “last
prisoners” of the Second World War.
Through individual case studies, the book examines the legal
questions these conflicts have raised and the answers the
courts have given. From the internationally celebrated “Woman
in Gold” lawsuit against Austria to lesser-known claims
against Germany, Hungary, Spain, and museums and private
collections in the United States, the book synthesizes the
legal and evidentiary materials and judicial rulings in each
case, creating a coherent narrative of proceedings that are
often labyrinthine in complexity. Written by a leading
authority on litigation and procedure, the book will be of
interest to readers in various fields of the humanities and
social sciences as well as law, and to anyone interested in
the fate of artworks that have been called the “last
prisoners” of the Second World War.