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May 29, 1999

Fire Damage Surpasses $1-Million

Fire Damage Surpasses $1-Million - (OMAHA, NE) -- Fire damage to an historic Omaha building is estimated to be more than one-and-a-half-Million-dollars. Omaha fire officials say it will take at least a couple more days to determine the cause of Monday's five-alarm fire at the old Bemis building in the Old Market.

From: MAMullin@aol.com
Date sent: Thu, 27 May 1999 17:28:07 EDT
Subject:

Kosovo art looting

To: securma@museum-security.org I am trying to verfy rumors of art looted from Kosovar being offered for sale in Europe can anyone help me?
Martin Mullin

The Local Review / DEVELOPMENTS IN LOS ANGELES COUNTY

Ex-UCLA Official Charged in Theft of Oil Painting

LOS ANGELES--A former director of counseling at UCLA has been indicted in the theft of a 19th century oil painting from the university and selling it to a New York gallery, authorities said Wednesday. Jane Crawford is accused of stealing "Frost Flowers, Ipswich 1889," by American painter Arthur Wesley Dow, said Assistant U.S. Atty. Ranee Katzenstein. Crawford, 50, of Van Nuys, was indicted late Tuesday in U.S. District Court on five counts of fraud. According to the indictment, Crawford stole the painting from the university in 1994 and sold it through a middle man to New York City's Spanierman Art Gallery for $200,000. In an interview with The Times, Crawford denied stealing the painting and said she had yet to be informed of her indictment. Crawford said the painting hung in her university office for months, and that a university official, whom she declined to identify, told her she could take it home. "I acted in good faith, believing I had been given an unclaimed painting," Crawford said. "Eventually I did sell it. I certainly did not know that the university had a claim to it." Katzenstein said Crawford had a business dispute with the alleged "middle man" who helped her sell the painting. As a result, the prosecutor said, he told authorities the piece was stolen. Officials at the Spanierman gallery had no knowledge that the painting was stolen, authorities said. Crawford, who spent 23 years at UCLA, said she retired last month from her academic counseling position "in response to this whole controversy and problem."
Copyright 1999 Los Angeles Times. All Rights Reserved

Date: Fri, 28 May 1999 20:15:42 -0400
From: "Elizabeth Simpson"elizabeth_simpson@bgc.bard.edu
Subject:

The Documentation Project

We would be grateful if you would put this notice on the Museum Security mailing list (immediately if not sooner).
Thank you.

RUSSIAN LAW ON "TROPHY ART" REMOVED BY SOVIET TROOPS DURING AND AT THE END OF WORLD WAR II

The Project for the Documentation of Wartime Cultural Losses (The Documentation Project) wishes to announce that our project on the Russian "trophy art" law can now be accessed at our website ( http://docproj.loyola.edu).
The law, which came into force on April 21, 1998, provides for the return, subject to stringent terms and conditions, of certain "cultural valuables" to foreign governments and families, and the nationalization of the rest by the Russian Federation. According to Article 9, section 1 of this law, claims for the return of property other than family heirlooms must be filed within 18 months of the law's entry into force.
The deadline for the filing of claims is therefore October 21, 1999, which is soon approaching. Wishing to provide a service to those whose property may now be held in Russia, we have provided an exact English translation of the law, the original Russian version, a summary of the law's major provisions, and a checklist for potential claimants. The summary and checklist have been prepared by members of The Documentation Project in collaboration with our legal counsel, Herrick, Feinstein LLP of New York.
Except in the case of heirloom claimants, individuals may not claim their property themselves but must have their claims filed by their government. The United States Department of State has begun to submit claims to the Russian Federation and will continue to do so for any United States citizen who can produce supporting evidence and provide a narrative statement outlining a claim. Information on how to determine whether you are eligible to have a claim filed, how to organize your evidence, and whom to contact at the State Department can be found at our site.
As stated in our checklist, you need not have certain evidence that your property is in Russia to have a claim filed on your behalf. If you have any reason to believe that your property MIGHT have been seized and removed to the Russian Federation, you should have a claim submitted. If your property is found to be in Russia in the future, according to the law, this property will apparently be eligible for return only if a claim for it has been filed by the October 21 deadline.

THE DOCUMENTATION PROJECT

The Project for the Documentation of Wartime Cultural Losses (The Documentation Project) has been formed to gather and make available information relating to works of art, archives, and other types of cultural property displaced as a consequence of war. The main focus of our research is the period of World War II, although other conflicts are also considered relevant. The project is administrated under the auspices of the Cultural Property Research Foundation, Inc., a not-for-profit foundation incorporated in 1998 in New York.
Our primary aim is to publish the results of our research and, where appropriate, to disseminate information in a more abbreviated format on the world wide web. Three research projects can now be accessed at our website: The Jeu de Paume and the Looting of France, The Art Looting Investigation Unit Final Report, and the Russian Law on "Trophy Art." Future research will appear as results become available. The Documentation Project is non-sectarian and non-partisan and operates in a manner that is unbiased and impartial regarding special interests, whether of nations, organizations, religious groups, or individuals.
Elizabeth Simpson, Chairman
Konstantin Akinsha, Research Director
Jonathan Petropoulos, Administrative Director

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