Museums in New York that exhibit artworks looted by Nazis during the Holocaust are now required to let the public know about that dark history through signs or placards put on display with the stolen objects.
A wooden sculpture by German artist Niclaus Weckmann,"Holy Family"a 1948 gift from Alastair Bradley Martin to the Metropolitan Museum of Artis shown on exhibition at the museum Thursday Sept. 1, 2022, in New York. The sculpture is among 53 works in the museum's collection, once looted during the Nazi era, but returned to their designated owners before being obtained by the museum through donation or sale.
It isn't clear how many pieces of art now on display will wind up being labeled as Nazi loot, and disagreements have already arisen over certain artworks with a complicated history. The museum, however, does not intend to put up such a sign on a Picasso painting called “The Actor,” which it received as a gift in 1952.
“I believe the law would cover this piece. It was dismissed on technical grounds and I believe under the broad definition of what this law means under the statute, it should be covered,” Kaye said. “This law did things legally that made it possible for people to make claims and sue,” said Wesley Fisher, the director of research for the Claims Conference, a group that represents the world’s Jews in negotiating for compensation for victims of Nazi persecution and their heirs.In 2018, New York City's Solomon R.
While signage for Nazi-looted artwork is a policy unique to New York, other U.S. museums have undertaken efforts to trace the origin of potentially stolen artworks.