Returning stolen and looted art to its rightful owners, the provenance, is a complex and lengthy process. Nevertheless, transferring ownership to the government for repatriation aligns with property laws and represents the morally right course of action.
Even in the 21st century, looted art from World War II is still being returned to its rightful owners.
Egon Schiele's Portrait of a Boy (left) and I Love Antithesis (right)
~Manhattan District Attorney, Theartnewspaper.com
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg speaks during the September 2024 ceremony marking the return of seven Egon Schiele works to the heirs of Fritz Grünbaum ~Manhattan District Attorney, Theartnewspaper.com
“By recovering these long-lost artworks our law enforcement authorities have today achieved a measure of justice for the victims of murder and robbery,” said Timothy Reif, a judge in the US Court of International Trade and one of the three Grünbaum descendants—along with David Fraenkel and Milos Vavra—seeking to recover the collection. ~Courtesy of Manhattan District Attorney ~Theartnewspaper.com
The Ethical Debate
April 2025
A New York judge ruled on Wednesday (23 April) that the Art Institute of Chicago (AIC) must return a Nazi-looted Egon Schiele drawing, the latest development in a yearslong battle between the museum and the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.
The Art Institute of Chicago (AIC) sharply struck back at claims by New York City’s District Attorney’s Office that the 1916 Egon Schiele drawing Russian War Prisoner, which the museum acquired in 1966, was “stolen property”, claiming that the work “was not looted during [the Second World War] but was, instead, lawfully sold by surviving family members after [the Second World War]” (emphasis theirs).
Egon Schiele’s Russian War Prisoner (1916)
Image and quotes in this section courtesy of the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, ~Theartnewspaper.com
Can location-specific digital technologies help to resolve debates on restitution?
Many believe AI and 3D scanning—are game-changing in returning objects to their rightful communities. However, lawyers say it can make the process harder.
Using new technology, the collective Looty carried out a “daring digital heist” at the British Museum in order to “return” the Rosetta Stone to Egypt.
~EWY Media
The Possibilities of Data Aggregation
Personal interview with Marc Porter, ~Gorden, May 8, 2025
“For the most part … setting out the strong moral principles is very effective as far as having people have honorable discussions about the field and seeing advances in how it’s moving.” Personal interview with Marc Porter, Christie's ~Gorden, May 8, 2025
"You can never do justice for the survivors or for the cultural property or art that was taken. But you can do the best you can."
Personal interview with Ambassador Stuart Eizenstat, ~Gorden, May 9, 2025
Though it will never be possible to return all that was stolen from Nazi victims, the art world can provide justice by doing what is morally and ethically correct and responsible. We must continue to question who has the right to possess the stolen art and what responsibility we have to return it to the rightful owners.
With so many Holocaust survivors no longer living, it is more crucial than ever that we take on this responsibility - for them and for ourselves.
