On errors in the article "Czechs to keep art taken by Nazis" (Pavel Jirasek)
When Mr. Howard Reich turned to me with inquiries on the return of property of Holocaust victims in the Czech Republic two months ago, the Freund collection in particular, I expected the article in Chicago Tribune to be printed sooner. The article contains a series of mistakes and inaccuracies which I would not associate with a quality newspaper. I anticipated a critique of my country. However, the article was full of errors and tended to manipulate the reader, a slant that I did not expect. Unfortunately, it happened . As I am the only representative of the Ministry of Culture of the Czech Republic mentioned in the Friday article I feel obliged to react in the name of the institution as well as in my own. Not only for not being indifferent towards the opinions of citizens of a free country but also because Chicago was largest the American-Czech city measured by the number of Czech inhabitants and still has a significant Czech-American population. I am writing this response to clarify the situation.
The poverty of our country has been mentioned a couple of times in the whole article. While the Czech Republic definitely does not rank among the richest in the world, its GDP at 15,086 USD per year per capita emphatically does not indicate, however, that it is one of the poor or developing third-world countries. Measured by this index it is the richest among the post- communist countries (with the exception of the former East Germany, in itself a special case).
Let me now focus on the correction of the most substantial errors that Mr. Reich wrote in his article, whether on purpose or unconsciously. It is not true that the items of the Jewish Museum will be possibly returned following the Act 212/2000. This Act deals with only with state owned collections and items may be returned to their original owners or their direct descendants. It is not true that items Dr. Freund's collection were proclaimed "national treasures." Some of them were proclaimed "listed monuments", a term of rather substantial difference from the definition of "national treasures." . Fifteen not 14 items were listed in this way. The proclamation by no means casts doubt on the right of ownership, only limiting it in certain respects. And from the point of view of the National Monuments´ State Protection Act passed in 1987, the identified part of Dr. Freund collection bears undoubtedly the features of "listed monuments" (16 of the total number of 63 paintings transferred to the Jewish Museum from the National Gallery following the Act 212/2000 were designated as "listed monuments"). It is impossible in any case take on the expert's view a political issue. Items proclaimed listed monuments will be returned to the victims of Holocaust, the same as they were returned to the victims of communism. Based on the selection by the National Gallery, the Ministry proclaimed part of the collection a cultural heritage in February 2002 following the Act 20/1987 on the National Monuments´ State Protection. In this way, following the Act 71/1994 which deals with the sale and export of cultural objects, may be prevented, a possible request for the export of the collection might be assessed and reviewed. According to this Act it would undoubtedly be proposed that the proclaimed items be again listed as "listed monuments." However, it should be noted that this Act does allow selected categories of cultural items to be exported from the Czech Republic provided that they are accompanied by an export license. The largest and most blatant error comes last. Mr. Reich states that in the restitution of the "so called "Waldes collection, the state bought back 15 paintings by František Kupka for $ 34 000,- which normally sell for $ 150, 000. The truth is that the state bought 23 paintings in total from Mr. Waldes (only those by Czech artists, 9 of them being Kupkas) for a total price $ 3, 370 000 (CZK 107, 500, 000).- In the case of the above mentioned Kupkas, this represented an average price of $296, 000,- per item. Since Mr. Reich stated that the average price on the world market is $150.000,- then the Czech state paid almost double the average world market price to the former owner. The Ministry of Culture is also willing to negotiate the possible purchase of selected works from Freund's collection with the new owners, should they wish to do so. The Czech government opted for the direct restitution of confiscated and looted property and items. This process begun after World War II2 but stopped after 1948 with the advent of the communist government. After the overthrow of Communism in 1989, tens of thousands of objects confiscated in 1948 were returned. Some of them were confiscated during the war and then again in 1948. Now, at the beginning of the new century, objects confiscated by the Nazis are being returned. These are objects which had never been returned to their original owners since no one knew about them. Contrary to other countries, the Czech government is searching for such objects within government-owned collections and has published a list of these items so that their original owners or their heirs can request their return. Also objects proclaimed "listed monuments" will be returned in this way. An article like this will not undermine the good nature and good will of the restitution policy.
Pavel Jirásek Director Department of Movable Cultural Heritage, Museums and Galleries Ministry of Culture Czech Republic Date sent: Wed, 27 Mar 2002 19:40:18 -0800 To: "Museum Security Network" securma@xs4all.nl From: Christopher Seal cseal@jps.net
Subject: Re: British Museum sold Benin Bronzes for £75 each
I have a suggestion for the Greek government. Based on the precedent of the BM's sales of Benin bronzes, why not arrange for the Greeks to contribute a suitably enormous sum, say, $75,000,000 to the BM in exchange for the permanent loan of the Parthenon Marbles to a purpose-built site in Athens, funded by the BM? This would , perhaps, save face for all sides, and get around the BM's contention that it can't give away any of its holdings. After all, if the Guggenheim can have far-flung campuses, why can't the BM?
Christopher Seal
GOOD HOPE -- The most visible symbol for a group of citizens fighting to keep a rock quarry out of eastern Walton County went up in flames Monday night in what authorities described Tuesday as a ''suspicious fire.''
The historic Casulon Plantation, site of numerous festivals, Civil War re-enactments, and sightseeing tours during recent years, was destroyed by a fire that was streaking 100 feet in the air by the time firefighters arrived.
''We're looking at this as a very suspicious fire,'' Walton County Sheriff Al Yarbrough said. However, if it was purposely set, he said authorities haven't determined a motive or suspects.
Yarbrough said the fire apparently started around the back door.
Deputy State Fire Marshal Troy Reynolds visited the scene Tuesday, but he said it was too early to say how the fire started. The fire was reported at 10:04 p.m. and it was midnight before the inferno was under control.
At least 25 firefighters from Walton, Oconee and Morgan counties converged on the scene with about 18 vehicles, including 10 water tankers. The closest place to secure additional water was four miles away in Good Hope.
The two-story antebellum house was located off Georgia Highway 186, along unpaved Jones Woods Road. The secluded dwelling was landscaped with century-old cedars along with magnolias, oaks and an English boxwood garden. It was once the centerpiece of a 10,000-acre, 19th-century cotton plantation. A slave cabin and other structures still exist, although a smokehouse and cellar for keeping vegetables at the rear of the house were destroyed in the fire.
No one was in Casulon Plantation at the time, but a caretaker did live in a house about 200 yards away on the grounds.
''It was very intense,'' said Felicia Kautz, a High Shoals resident who witnessed the fire. ''Glass was breaking and fire departments were all over the place. It was like something out of 'Gone With the Wind.' ''
''Heart pine is nothing but turpentine and the whole construction was heart pine,'' said Walton County Fire Battalion Chief Mike Moore. While pieces of the home like mantels are salvageable, the structure itself cannot be saved, he said. The house, on the National Register of Historic Places, is owned by Wil Sommer and Janice Burrell, a divorced couple, who were still in the process of settling the Casulon estate. Sommer was out of state at the time of the fire, authorities at the scene said. Burrell was also out of state, but was en route to Athens on Tuesday. Neither was available for comment.
The house and 15.5 acres of land was for sale at $1.85 million, according to the World Wide Web site for a firm called Trade Away.
The house has for years been at the forefront of a effort to stop Hanson Aggregates from mining a rock quarry on land adjacent to the historic plantation built in 1824. It was once the home of Gov. James Boynton, who married at the house in 1883.
The destruction of the house is a loss historically, but people involved in the battle against Hanson concede it is a strike against quarry opponents, too. Most have predicted the quarry issue will be settled in the courts.
''I really fear that it will now tip in their direction,'' said Bonnie Stanford, an active member of the anti-quarry group. The proximity of the proposed quarry to the house was considered a detriment to the structure.
People also recognized Janice Burrell as a key figure in the battle.
''That lady really worked on it,'' said Don Thomas, who drove by the residence Tuesday morning to see the damage. ''It's going to be hard to try and stop it now. It was the only thing holding it back.''
''I think it's going to be a setback,'' said Kautz, who has worked as a tour guide at Casulon and is opposed to the quarry. ''I feel very sad for Janice and Wil, but it won't stop our resolve.''
''We'll still be impacted at High Shoals a couple of miles down the road with the noise, trucks and the silica dust,'' said her husband, Jim Kautz. ''There are so many reasons to continue the fight.''
Nigel Wells, environmental director for Hanson's corporate office in Atlanta, said Tuesday afternoon he was ''shocked'' to learn about the fire.
''It's not a scenario that we even thought about. You've caught me completely off guard,'' Wells said. ''That plantation house has been there for years and years and years, and we always presumed it would be there.''
Hanson's request for a surface mining permit from the state Environmental Protection Division office in Athens is being evaluated based on the house being there, Wells said.
''The last time I spoke to them, and it was last week, they told me they were nearing the end of the evaluation,'' he said, adding he didn't know if the loss of the house would affect the evaluation.
Harley Davis, who lives about a mile away, said he saw the fire from his home.
''The sky looked red and I knew something was on fire, but you know I never thought of it being Casulon. I thought the woods were on fire,'' Davis said.
He had only recently become interested in the dispute with Hanson.
''I hadn't been all that against it until I found out what they were going to do with the water,'' he said.
Hanson has said it plans to discharge up to 1.1 million gallons of water a day into nearby Jacks Creek and wants to withdraw about 300,000 gallons a day from the same creek.
Another historic home about a mile away burned in December 2000. Mary Ellen Singleton, who dropped by Casulon on Tuesday, said her two-story, six columned home burned while she was away in Florida.
Singleton said she believes the fire was an accident and that she is not sure what caused it, although there was an electrical storm that week. The Art Newspaper.com
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This week's top stories:
BRITISH MUSEUM SOLD BENIN BRONZES
LONDON. The British Museum (BM) has sold over 30 Benin Bronzes since World War II, according to a file which has been declassified at the request of The Art Newspaper. Most went to Nigeria and were bought for under £100, although fine examples currently fetch up to £100,000. The sell-offs are now strongly regretted by BM curators. http://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/article.asp?idart=9174
GIOTTO’S SCROVEGNI CHAPEL FRESCOES RESTORED
PADUA. After 20 years of planning and eight months of careful work, the restoration of Giotto’s frescoes in the Scrovegni Chapel is complete and the public can now see the restored masterpieces. http://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/article.asp?idart=9173
JAVA’S ART IS SLIPPING AWAY
HONG KONG. The endangered status of both Cambodia’s and China’s antiquities has received much attention in the West, along with well intentioned (but dubiously effective) support. But Java’s heritage, just as spectacular, has been allowed to slip away unnoticed. And Indonesia’s economic-political crises are undermining what limited progress had been made. http://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/article.asp?idart=9172
PARIS. Paintings are to Maastricht as….Old Master drawings are to Paris. This was again the case as the 11th edition of the Salon du Dessin got under way in the rather kitsch but perfectly adequate surroundings of the Salons Hoche off the Etoile. http://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/article.asp?idart=9170
WHITEWASH OF THE PARTHENON MARBLES CLEANING DEBATE?
LONDON. The British Museum (BM) has published a report on the controversial 1999 conference on the cleaning of the Parthenon Marbles. This comprises an important paper by curator Ian Jenkins, along with internal museum documentation and photographic evidence, and presents a frank account of the 1937-38 cleaning. http://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/article.asp?idart=9151
RARE CALIFORNIAN FURNITURE IN ST LOUIS AUCTION
NEW YORK. Ivey-Selkirk Auctioneers, based in Saint Louis, Missouri, is offering the ultimate prizes for 20th-century furniture collectors on 19 April. They are pieces by the celebrated architects Greene & Greene, who worked at the turn of the 20th century in California, and include an inlaid Honduras mahogany dresser with matching chiffonier. Both are from the master bedroom suite of the Robert R. Blacker house in Pasadena, California, and were made in 1908 by the workshop of Peter Hall. http://www.theartnewspaper.com/news/article.asp?idart=9150