Report of the Spoliation Advisory Panel in respect of eight drawings now in the possession of the Samuel Courtauld Trust |
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| Author:
| Spoliation Advisory Panel, |
| Contribution by:
| Hirst, David |
| Series title: | House of Commons papers Ser. |
| ISBN: | 978-0-10-296087-7 |
| Publication Date: | Jun 2009 |
| Publisher: | Stationery Office, The
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| Book Format: | Paperback |
| List Price: | AUD $13.95 |
Book Description:
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In this report the Panel considers a claim by the heirs of Professor Dr Curt Glaser (Glaser) against the Samuel Courtauld Trust (the Courtauld) in respect of eight drawings now in the Courtauld's collection. The heirs' representatives assert that the drawings were the subject of a forced sale by auction in May 1933 as a result of Nazi persecution against Glaser, who was Jewish by birth. Glaser was Director of the Staatliche Kunstbibliothek (State Art Library) in Berlin. The Nazis came...
More DescriptionIn this report the Panel considers a claim by the heirs of Professor Dr Curt Glaser (Glaser) against the Samuel Courtauld Trust (the Courtauld) in respect of eight drawings now in the Courtauld's collection. The heirs' representatives assert that the drawings were the subject of a forced sale by auction in May 1933 as a result of Nazi persecution against Glaser, who was Jewish by birth. Glaser was Director of the Staatliche Kunstbibliothek (State Art Library) in Berlin. The Nazis came to power on 30 January 1933. On 7 April they enacted the Law for the Restitution of a Professional Civil Service, which allowed the dismissal of state employees who were Jewish or regarded as politically unreliable. Glaser was dismissed from his position. At two auction sales in 1933 Glaser sold the bulk of his large collection. The drawings were acquired by Count Antoine Seilern (Seilern) at one of these auctions, and formed part of Seilern's bequest in 1978 to the Home House Society, to which the Courtauld is now the successor body. The Courtauld's legal title to the drawings is not contested, but the Panel must consider the moral strength of the claimants' case. The Panel find that Glaser sold for mixed motives and the claimants' moral claim is insufficiently strong to warrant a recommendation that the drawings should be transferred to them. They also consider that, whenever any of the drawings is on show, the Courtauld should display alongside it a brief account of its history and provenance during and since the Nazi era, with special reference to the claimants' relationship with and historical interest in the drawings.