Major U.S. Museums and Auction Houses
have just received one of the largest
Holocaust-related art claims in Decorative
Arts.
For immediate release
New York, N.Y. – July 01, 2002 – 23 Major U.S. Museums, including the Metropolitan
Museum of Arts and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, the three major Auction
Houses and the largest US-based art dealer groups have just received what amounts to
be the potentially largest single Holocaust-related art claim in Decorative Arts. The
Jewish family which recently filed a claim against an entire collection with the
Carnavalet Museum, located in Paris, has now notified all these US institutions to
check provenance on decorative art items sold after 1939 on the Paris market.
This Jewish family initially filed a claim against the Bouvier collection at the Carnavalet
Museum, one of the most prestigious XVIIIth Century French Furniture collections in the
world. This collection was donated by Henriette BOUVIER, an antique dealer, to the
Carnavalet Museum, in 1966. The art claim was filed by a Jewish family stating that
this collection actually belongs to an estate which was looted during World War II.
Items from this estate which may have been sold by Henriette Bouvier after 1939 and
now in possession of US Museums, collectors or art dealers in the US will be considered
of suspicious provenance. Given the strong market activity in Decorative Arts in France
during and after the 1! 940s, this looting activity may have a strong impact in the US
market as well.
All institutions have been invited to check provenance and report to the claimant
directly, in order to prevent complex legal procedures. Copies of this claim have also
been filed with the FBI, the Department of Justice, the US Customs Service, the New
York State Banking Department and the State Department.
The initial claim against the Carnavalet Museum was filed on May 21, 2002 with the
Drai Commission, a Government-appointed commission in charge of resolving all
Holocaust-related claims covering assets in France. This claim already attracted
considerable attention in the French press due to the importance of the antique dealer
Henriette Bouvier in the French Decorative Arts market during the 1940s and 1950s.
Press Contact:
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To the Attention of: Director of Communication, RESCAM,
LLC