Monuments Men Foundation Uncovers Evidence Indicating Nazi Era "Forced Sale" Painting Currently on View at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston Belongs to Heirs of Dr. Max Emden
DALLAS, July 21, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Monuments Men Foundation for the Preservation of Art (Foundation), recipient of the National Humanities Medal, presented by the President of the United States for its work honoring the Monuments Men and Women of World War II, has identified a major work of art on view at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (Museum), which it believes rightfully belongs to the heirs of a German Jew, Dr. Max J. Emden. Research into this case, and several months of communications with Mr. Gary Tinterow, Director of the Museum, have also raised questions about the Museum's level of commitment to the Washington Principles on Nazi-confiscated art, in particular the responsibility of the Museum to fully research the provenance of works of art thought to have been in continental Europe between 1932 and 1946 that underwent a change of ownership.
- The painting, "The Marketplace at Pirna," by 18th century artist Bernardo Bellotto, formally entered the Museum collection in 1961 as a gift from the Kress Foundation.
- A subsequent Museum provenance in the 2000s acknowledged the ownership of Dr. Emden, his sale to Haberstock, and the erroneous restitution of the Bellotto by the Monuments Men in 1946.
- It did so again in the 2000s, when the Museum revised its provenance to include Dr. Emden as a previous owner.
- "Because of the evidence we have recently discovered, we believe that the Museum now has an urgent duty to the Emden heirs.