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THE ARCHIVE BY COUNTRY
Germany
Published reports from our archive, newest first.
A country may refer to the theft, recovery, return or legal proceedings. A case can be linked to more than one country.
89 reports · Page 3 / 5
The two-seal bronze sculpture formerly on Bismarckplatz; image published with the police theft appeal. Image source ↗
Wilhelmshaven, Germany
A bronze sculpture of two seals, formerly displayed on Bismarckplatz, was stolen from a Wilhelmshaven storage yard between July and September 2022. Police said it had been stored on a pallet and its weight required a vehicle; initial enquiries suggested at least four people were needed to move it. The October appeal announced no recovery or arrest. Photo supplied by police.
Trier, Germany
A Dutch winter scene by Adam van Breen, dated 1610, was returned to the heir of Jewish art dealer Jacques Goudstikker. Hermann Göring acquired the painting during the Nazi era. It later entered the collection of the Stadtmuseum Simeonstift in Trier. Image: Stadtmuseum Simeonstift Trier.
Richie Culver’s Contemplation stolen from a Berlin auction house — artwork or case documentation from the linked image source. Image source ↗
Berlin, Germany
Police sought Culver’s signed acrylic-and-pencil work on paper after its disappearance between 29 November 2021 and 3 January 2022. The appeal asks about sale, exchange or pledge offers; subsequent recovery is not established.
Berlin, Germany
Berlin’s Alte Nationalgalerie returned Camille Pissarro’s 1867 painting A Square in La Roche-Guyon to Armand Dorville’s heirs and then bought it back. The work had been sold in 1942 at an auction of the Jewish lawyer’s collection under the Vichy regime. Image: Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Alte Nationalgalerie / Jörg P. Anders.
Lehmbruck Museum restitutes Emil Nolde’s Buchsbaumgarten — artwork or case documentation from the linked image source. Image source ↗
Duisburg, Germany
The Lehmbruck Museum restituted Nolde’s garden painting to Ismar Littmann’s heirs. Research linked its forced sale to Nazi persecution of the family; the release also announced a subsequent auction.
Berlin, Germany
Berlin Police sought Lore Plietzsch’s Flötenspielende Kinder, a public bronze depicting two children, after it was taken in Marzahn overnight on 23–24 September 2021. The flutes had already been removed in an earlier theft. Image: Berlin Police.
Berlin, Germany
Berlin police sought a numbered example of Paul van Hoeydonck’s Man in Space (Fallen Astronaut), taken from a gallery in Berlin-Mitte on 31 July 2021. The work is an aluminium figure set in blue acrylic. Image: Berlin Police.
Lovis Corinth, Portrait of Alfred Kerr (1907) · Zeno.org / Wikimedia Commons Image source ↗
Berlin, Germany
The German advisory commission declined to recommend returning Lovis Corinth’s portrait. It found the evidence insufficient to establish persecution-related loss of this particular painting from Robert Graetz’s collection.
Case diagram by ArtTraceX · Europa (1931) · Copy identified in Germany’s federal archive. Image source ↗
Berlin, Germany
A nitrate copy of Stefan and Franciszka Themerson’s avant-garde film was identified in Germany’s federal archive. The BFI records its return to the UK in July 2021 and subsequent restoration in Warsaw.
Milan, Italy / Munich, Germany
Carabinieri recovered a seventeenth-century oil on panel in Munich after identifying it in a Bavarian auction catalogue in 2016. The painting was stolen from a Milan home in August 1975. Milan judicial authorities ordered its return to the heirs of the person who reported the theft. Image of the recovered work published by la Repubblica.
Case diagram by ArtTraceX · Malvine Stern collection · Rudolf von Alt · Naples. Image source ↗
Germany
Germany’s federal art administration returned Rudolf von Alt’s Naples to Malvine Stern’s heirs in May 2021. An earlier request to export the work from Austria had been denied after the Anschluss.
Case diagram by ArtTraceX · Heinrich Rieger collection · Schiele watercolour · Cologne. Image source ↗
Cologne, Germany
A collector’s stamp linked Egon Schiele’s watercolour to Heinrich Rieger. Cologne records restitution to his heirs by a council decision of 23 March 2021.
Case diagram by ArtTraceX · Max Fischer collection · Erich Heckel · Geschwister. Image source ↗
Karlsruhe, Germany
The German advisory commission recommended restitution of Erich Heckel’s painting in December 2020. Baden-Württemberg’s culture ministry confirms that it was returned to Max Fischer’s heirs.
Art Gallery of Ontario returns van Kessel still life to David family — artwork or case documentation from the linked image source. Image source ↗
Toronto, Canada; Belgium; Germany
The AGO restituted Still Life with Flowers, attributed to Jan van Kessel the Elder, to Dagobert and Martha David’s family. Research established a sale under duress during the German occupation of Belgium.
William N. Copley work stolen from Berlin-Mitte gallery — artwork or case documentation from the linked image source. Image source ↗
Berlin, Germany
Berlin police published an appeal for an untitled 1960 ink work taken during 11–12 September 2020. The small work is signed cply on the reverse. This archive entry records the police appeal, not a confirmed present location.
Two Bruno Bielefeld paintings sought after Berlin residential theft — artwork or case documentation from the linked image source. Image source ↗
Berlin, Germany
Berlin police sought two Inselbrücke views taken from a Mitte residence between August 2019 and August 2020. The official appeal describes their materials and dimensions; no recovery is recorded in that source.
Jacob Ochtervelt, The Lemon Slice, 16217. Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen / Wikimedia Commons · PDM 1.0. Image source ↗
Bavaria, Germany
The German advisory commission recommended returning Jacob Ochtervelt’s painting to Carl Hagen’s heirs with a provision to share future sale proceeds with Bavaria.
New York, US / Germany
A federal court dismissed Noland’s claims over the restoration of Log Cabin Façade in Germany. It found US copyright law did not reach the refurbishment abroad and that use of photos to market the work was fair use. Image shows another version of Log Cabin, from the Stone collection.
Berlin, Germany
A gallery in Berlin-Mitte reported the theft of Ghada Amer’s Thought # 3 on a Lobster Base between 6 and 17 February 2020. Police described the work as a multicoloured glazed ceramic from 2017 on a red base and released photographs.
Berlin, Germany
The heritage foundation reported three convictions in the 2017 gold coin theft. At the announcement date, the judgment remained open to appeal.
Berlin, Germany
Germany returned two works by Jean-Louis Forain to the heirs of Jewish lawyer Armand Dorville. Both had been found in Cornelius Gurlitt’s collection. Another member of the Gurlitt family returned a work by Constantin Guys at the same ceremony. Image: Mick Vincenz / Kunstmuseum Bern and Bundeskunsthalle.