Wally Goes to Trial

Ten years into the legal dispute, the case is now headed for trial. The story began in 1912 when Egon Schiele painted his mistress. "Portrait of Wally" was owned by Lea Bondi, an Austrian Jew, in 1939. On the eve of her escape to to England, Friedrich Welz, a Nazi, took possession of the painting. Whether this was theft or sale is disputed. After the war, the painting was mistakenly returned to the heirs of another jewish art collector. The heirs sold the painting to an Austrian museum, who accepted the painting even though it had been informed that it was never owned by the heirs. In 1954, Austrian collector Rudolf Leopold acquired the painting. in 1997, the Leopold Museum loaned the painting to the Museum of Modern Art where it was confiscated by the U.S. government. It has sat in a warehouse in Queens ever since.
U.S. District Judge Loretta Preska dismissed cross motions for summary judgment. The issue for trial? Whether the painting was known to be stolen when it was imported under the National Stolen Property Act.
Listen to my interview with Austrian Radio about the case here.

The Cultural Property Wars, Part ?

Using the Rosetta Stone as a jumping off point, John Tierney in the New York Times revives the battle over antiquities. John Henry Merryman long ago charaterized this dispute as between the nationalists and the internationalists. In his article, published Nov. 16, 2009, Tierney posits that if the Rosetta Stone would have been unearthed today it would not be able to be acquired by a museum outside Egypt. Is this a bad thing? Tierney quotes James Cuno, author of "Who Owns Antiquity," as suggesting that the stone would not be studied and would be "a mere curiosity." Worse: "Egyptology as we know it would not exist."