Museums in Disaster Areas: GOS Deadline Extended

General Operating Support Application Deadline Extended for Museums in Disaster Areas

• Florida Citrus, Hernando, Hillsborough, Lake, Orange, Osceola, Pasco, Polk, Sumter
• New York Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Jefferson, Lewis, St. Lawrence
• Tennessee Carter, Cumberland, Jackson, Johnson
• Maine Androscoggin, Cumberland, Franklin, Hancock, Kennebec, Knox, Lincoln, Oxford, Penobscot, Piscataquis, Sagadahoc, Somerset, Waldo, Washington, York
• New Hampshire Belknap, Carroll, Cheshire, Coos, Grafton, Hillsborough, Merrimack, Strafford, Sullivan
• North Carolina Avery, Mitchell
• Vermont Addison, Chittenden, Franklin, Grand Isle, Orange, Windsor

Vandals scar memorial to city's fallen heroes

They were police officers and firefighters who went beyond the call of duty to save lives and property. For some of them, a chase ended in death in an alley. For others, the end came in a cloud of smoke. They were heroes who died doing their duty. And now, police say, vandals are wreaking havoc on their small patch of glory two blocks from the Police Administration Building in Center City. In a span of less than a week, the "Living Flames" Memorial at Sixth and Race Streets, which honors Philadelphia police officers and firefighters who were killed on the job, has been vandalized twice. Police said five of the eight plaques, containing the names of deceased firefighters, were stolen after vandals pried the bolts that attached them to granite slabs. Half of a sixth plaque, with the names of slain police officers, was also removed. The inch-thick plaques, measuring 32 by 20 inches, were made of cast aluminum with a bronze finish. Police believe the plaques were stolen for their value as aluminum scrap, roughly 29 cents per pound. "If they had any intrinsic value to anyone, it would be for the scrap metal," said Capt. Brian Korn of the Sixth District. Adding insult to injury was that the thefts were discovered by police. On Jan. 14, an officer reported that two firefighter plaques had been removed. Six days later, an officer who went to check on the damage discovered three additional firefighter plaques had been stolen and one police plaque cut in half. The undamaged half of the sixth plaque, and the two remaining police plaques were taken to police headquarters for safekeeping. "It's a shame," said Jerry Callahan, spokesman for the Hero Scholarship Fund, which raises money for the education of children of police officers and firefighters who were killed or injured while on duty. "These are people that gave their lives. And all these thieves are doing is destroying the last vestige that they have left." This is not the first time that vandals struck at the park. Last April, someone stole two firefighter plaques. The culprits were never caught, police said. New plaques were made for $3,000. In 1975, Reginald Beauchan designed and built the memorial at Franklin Square Park. Manicured shrubs encircle the memorial, in the shadow of the Benjamin Franklin Lightning Bolt sculpture on Sixth Street just before it intersects Race. In the center is an eight-foot-tall aluminum tripod showing three badges -- for police, Fairmount Park guards and firefighters -- on three poles. The poles converge and are surmounted by a cone that holds a Plexiglas prism. When sunlight reflects off the prism, it looks like a sparkling flame. Fire Commissioner Harold B. Hairston said the plaques were priceless. "These folks lost their lives in the most heroic fashion," he said. "We will do all we can to showcase these brave men and women, despite the nonsense of some despicable person." The plaques contained the names of 271 firefighters who had died on duty since 1871, and 219 police officers who died on the job since 1828. Hairston said he would meet with police and fire department officials and city representatives next week to discuss how to better protect the plaques. One proposal is to have the names directly engraved into the granite to resemble headstones at a cemetery; another is to move the memorial to another site. In the meantime, police patrols were increased throughout the park all week. "We think it might be the same person or persons judging by what was taken and when," Korn said. "We're talking the early morning hours."
1998 Philadelphia Newspapers Inc.

Contents

News:

Announcements:

UNESCO DIRECTOR-GENERAL FEDERICO MAYOR CONDEMNS THE BOMBING IN KANDY (SRI LANKA)

The Sacred City of Kandy was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 1988. The terrorist bombing took place at the entrance of the Temple of the Tooth, which is one of the most important buildings within the World Heritage monument zone. Built to house t he relic tooth of Buddha in the early 4th century AD when it was transferred for the final time, the Temple of the Tooth is directly and tangibly associated with the history of the spread of Buddhism. This two-storied building was rebuilt by King Narendr asinghe in the early 18th century and later restored by Kind Keerthisiri Rajasinghe. Kandy, founded in the 14th century and known as the city of Senkadagalapura, was the last capital of the Sinhala kings, whose patronage enabled the Dinahala culture to flourish for more that 2500 years until the occupation of Sri Lanka by the British in 1 815. The monumental ensemble is an outstanding example of a type of construction in which the Royal Palace and the Temple of the Tooth of Buddha are juxtaposed. The Sacred City of Kandy has been the religious capital of Buddhism for millions of Buddhist s.

** EL NINO HITS THE GALAPAGOS ISLANDS HARD

GALAPAGOS ISLANDS, Ecuador, January 22, 1998 (ENS) - The unique plants, birds and animals of the Galapagos Islands are suffering the effects of this year's record-breaking El Nino. Scientists have been tracing these impacts since the middle of 1997, according to a new report issued by the Charles Darwin Research Station. The Charles Darwin Research Station conducts and facilitates research in the Galapagos Islands as part of the Charles Darwin Foundation for the Galapagos Islands, an international non-profit organization conducting scientific research in the Galapagos Islands since 1959. The Darwin Station provides information and technical assistance for the Galapagos National Park Service and other branches of the government of Ecuador. >From the point of view of long-term conservation, the greatest >concern of Darwin Station scientists is that El Nino will facilitate the establishment and spread of species alien to Galapagos, causing permanent ecological change. The Galapagos Islands lie approximately 1000 kilometers (600 miles) west of Ecuador, straddling the equator. The archipelago consists of 13 major islands, 6 small islands, and dozens of islets and rocks. The distribution of sea lions and fur seals around the archipelago is abnormal, scientists at the Darwin Station report. Fur seals have been spotted in places where they usually are absent, like Punta Suarez on Espanola Island, whereas sea lions are scarce on some of their favorite beaches. There is no evidence of significantly higher than normal death rate for any species, but birds have had very little successful breeding. Reproduction of waved albatrosses, penguins and cormorants has failed this year. Boobies have fared better. Hammerhead sharks have disappeared from their normal ranges, and have been found at unusual depths. This is probably due to altered water temperatures in their usual habitat. Divers have also reported changes in composition of fish population, with some species becoming more abundant and others less so. Darwin Station scientists back from a recent monitoring trip to the west of the Galapagos archipelago reported that green algae are diminishing in abundance, while red algae are increasing. This may be affecting marine iguanas. There have been recent reports of dead iguanas slightly above normal mortality rate in certain locations. Sea turtles are abundant in the archipelago, as is normal for this time of the year, which is their egg-laying and mating season. The stable climatic conditions observed during the third quarter of 1997 have been followed by the onset of hot, rainy weather. So far, the ecological consequences have been most obvious on land with the abundant plant life. Marine plants and animals are also changing in abundance and distribution. Current conditions for tourism, although uncomfortable due to the increased rain, still allow for a unique wildlife experience. For visitors interested in ecology, the chance to observe first-hand the effects of El Nino may itself be of interest, Darwin Station scientists say. El Nino's extremely warm waters in the Pacific Ocean have caused coral bleaching in the waters around Ecuador's Galapagos Islands, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said Wednesday. Warm waters two to three degrees Celsius above the year's maximum temperatures are continuing to develop down the coast of South America. These Galapagos "hot spots," with temperatures well above last year's levels, have been identified by NOAA satellite data. "The Galapagos, on the Equator off the coast of Ecuador, lie in some of the warmest waters of this El Nino," said NOAA oceanographer Al Strong. "Sea surface temperatures in the area are currently about 29 degrees Celsius, nearly a whole degree and a half warmer than what is critical for bleaching at that site." Strong reports that the satellite data for the area have been confirmed by data from NOAA's data buoys. Corals at the Galapagos thrive as long as temperatures remain at or below 27 degrees Celsius - the normal maximum sea surface temperature at this site. An increase of one or two degrees above the usual maximum temperatures can be deadly to corals. Coral reefs, the "rainforests of the oceans," support a variety of sea life and provide resources of significant economic importance such as fishing and recreation. Coral bleaching, induced by high water temperatures, has raised concerns about these fragile ecosystems. Coral bleaching occurs as coral tissue expels zooxanthellae, a type of algae that resides in the structure of the coral, and is essential to the coral's survival. Corals normally recover, unless high ocean temperatures persist for too long a period or become too warm. During the 1997-98 El Nino, NOAA has also confirmed coral bleaching in the Western Hemisphere at sites in the Florida Keys, Baja California, Pacific Coast of Panama, the Yucatan coast, Caymans, and the Netherland Antillies. Most meteorologists predict that the hot, rainy conditions may intensify in the first part of 1998 and will be maintained through to April or May. The Charles Darwin Research Station will continue to measure rainfall and temperature but is not in a position to confirm or reject the meteorologistsi forecasts. If the El Nino event reaches the intensity and duration that have been forecast, the Galapagos islands are likely to experience intense ecological impacts. These impacts favor some species and are detrimental to others. The experience of the 1982-83 El Nino indicates that animals and birds dependent on the sea will be the worst affected. The Charles Darwin Research Station is urgently seeking funds to monitor the El Nino event and related ecological changes, and to be able to respond to problems such as introduction of new alien species. A Darwin Station statement invites, "We would also welcome approaches from experienced, self-funded scientists wishing to propose El Nino-related research projects."
--- The EnviroNews Service | E-Mail: newsdesk@envirolink.org
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For more information about WHNEWS or earlier issues, see http://www.unesco.org/whc/news/whnews.htm.
WHNEWS is provided by the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, the Secretariat for the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, as a forum for the exchange of information on matters relating to the World Heritage. The opinions expressed do not necessarily represent those of the World Heritage Centre, UNESCO, or the World Heritage Committee.
Fax: +33 1 4568-5570; Mail: UNESCO World Heritage Centre, 7 place de Fontenoy, 75352 Paris 07 SP, FRANCE.

Former Israeli lawmaker in alleged art scam

JERUSALEM, Jan 29, (Reuters) - An Israeli court ordered a former lawmaker confined to house arrest on Thursday for allegedly setting fire to works of art in order to collect insurance payments, Israel Radio said. Police suspect businessman Shmuel Flatto-Sharon was involved in an arson fire at a Tel Aviv warehouse last March where he stored hundreds of paintings belonging to him and a French friend. The paintings were valued at more than $10 million. Flatto-Sharon later submitted a claim for the paintings in his own collection to an Israeli insurance company but police say they discovered some of the works of art in his home undamaged. Flatto-Sharon, who headed a one-man political party in the parliament in the 1970s, has had previous fraud-related convictions.
Copyright 1998 Reuters Limited.

German art deal smooths exiles' return

A GERMAN princess who fled from the Soviet Army in 1945 has been allowed to reclaim some of her family's art collection and will put it up for international auction in the eastern German city of Gera. The deal struck between the House of Reuss, which was once the ruling family in the region, and Gera is described by the city authorities as unique and may set a precedent for other aristocrats who may wish to return to their confiscated estates in eastern Germany. Christie's, which is organising the auction in the grounds of the ruined family home of Schloss Osterstein, expects to fetch about £1 million for 700 lots, including furniture attributed to the 18th-century cabinet maker, David Röntgen, Meissen porcelain, engraved Bohemian glass, a group of Old Master pictures and ancient weapons. The money raised will go partly towards funding the return of the Reuss family - eight-year-old Princess Heinrich I Reuss has already moved into an apartment in Gera - and partly towards maintaining the rest of the family treasure, which is on display in local museums. The most valuable single lot is probably a writing table by Röntgen, which is expected to fetch between £50,000 and £70,000. But there is also a fine table made from German walnut and other woods, inset with Wedgwood porcelain plaques, which could reach £40,000. That table demonstrates how effectively English and north German craftsmen collaborated during the late 18th century. There is always strong British buying interest in the furniture of Röntgen, who settled in London in 1731. Röntgen was a house guest of the Reuss family and most of the lots have a personal connection with the ancient family. An engraved Bohemian beaker from the early 19th century shows the Reuss coat of arms, and some of the 19th-century portraits depict members of the Reuss family. Prince Stefan von Ratibor, who is supervising the sale for Christie's, scheduled for May 26 and 27, said that one of the most evocative lots will be a coin collection rescued from the bombed and blazing castle in the dying days of the war. "Some of the coins melted together in the fire, giving them a really powerful emotional value," he said. As the Russians marched into Germany, the Reuss family rescued what it could from the bombed-out castle and fled westwards, partly in a horse and cart, to relatives in Hesse. Some of the valuables were looted by the Soviet soldiers. Much of the collection was put into warehouses by the East German communists. After unification, under the restitution law of 1994, "portable" property - such as furniture and artworks -can be returned to former owners. The special aspect of the Reuss arrangement is that an aristocratic family is forgoing some of its rights and allowing local museums to keep the bulk of a collection. The Reuss family is auctioning only about a quarter of the total works and even then much of their profits will go into a fund to maintain the works held by the museum. The agreement, according to a statement by the Culture Ministry of Thuringia, "is unique both in federal and regional terms. It establishes a workable and lasting basis for the public and private use of such works of art." The Reuss princes and princesses have governed the region since the 12th century. The family survived Napoleon, the Prussian expansion of 1866 and had sovereign power until 1918. In 1921 the principality of Reuss became part of Thuringia. At a news conference in Gera yesterday, the businessman son of Princess Heinrich I Reuss emphasised that the family intended to rediscover its roots in the area. He said: "It has always been my family's desire to return to our town. My mother returned to Gera as soon as she could after the unification of Germany in 1990, and my family and I plan to follow in the near future."
(Times of London)

Man Ray forgeries exposed

Man Ray forgeries are in private colections and in collections of renowed museums such as The Getty. At the moment all material used to forge these photographs are at the Centre Pompidou in Paris. A long-running art forgery operation, which produced high-quality "vintage" Man Ray photographs, has been uncovered by the German photographer and collector Werner Bokelberg. The fakes include Man Ray's most famous images from the 1920s and '30s, including La Marquise Casati (1922), Noire et blanche (1926) and Larmes (1930-33). Bokelberg, who has assembled a large collection of 19th- and early 20th-century photographs and began collecting Man Ray in the 1970s, became suspicious at the increasing availability of such an unusually large selection of classic, and rare, Man Ray images. "It was too good to be true," he told ArtNet. "I could have any picture I wanted." The source of this bounty was a engaging rogue known as Benjamin "Jimmy" Walter, a saxophone player who frequented various Paris nightclubs. "In retrospect, he looked and behaved like a gangster from central casting," said Bokelberg, who added that Walter could be very convincing. "'My word of honor,' he would say, 'I swear on the grave of my father'." Walter's explanation of how he came to possess vintage Man Ray photos was a complicated one. According to Walter, his father -- Lucien Walter -- had been a bureaucrat who checked the papers of immigrants. In the course of his work, Lucien, who was also a Sunday painter, had befriended Man Ray and Marcel Duchamp, and even played chess with the famed Dadaists. Through this acquaintance, Lucien obtained a number of Man Ray photographs directly from the artist. A second group of Man Ray works supposedly belonged to an unnamed friend of Lucien's, a secretive collector with no direct relatives except for a nephew, who was a drug addict -- and who in his will left the pictures to Lucien. According to Walter, he inherited all these works from his father, who died in 1982. This tale, as it turned out, was false. Lucien is now believed to have been a bus driver -- though an investigation could find no driving license for him -- who died in a charity hospital, with no provable connection to Man Ray. So where did the purported Man Ray photographs actually come from? It remains uncertain, but during Man Ray's sojourn in Paris in the 1960s and '70s, he worked with a commercial photographic printer named Serge Beguier, who was married to Ellen Beguier -- Serge called her Marie -- who has now been Walter's companion for many years. The faked prints, then, could come from original negatives -- all of which were supposedly given in 1993 by Man Ray's estate to the Musée Pompidou (with a smaller number going to an institution in Rome). According to Bokelberg, some of the forgeries are also unusually cropped, containing more of the image than other versions of the same photographs, suggesting access to negatives rather than simple copies of existing prints. Walter himself has yet to provide a final explanation. "Each time he is confronted," Bokelberg said, "Walter comes up with a new story, more incredible than the last." The fakes seemed to have a good pedigree. They passed expert inspection, and are believed to be in a number of public collections. Bokelberg said that on Nov. 16, 1983, a group of them were sold at public auction at the Hotel Drouot, under the expertise of Man Ray specialist Gerald Levy, thus providing a bit of provenance. The forgers also took pains to use authentic-seeming photographic paper. A number of fake Man Rays that turned up in the early 1990s (some of which were also approved by Levy) seem to be printed on paper produced in the 1930s. In fact, as the Agfa company confirmed to Bokelberg, the paper used in the forgery scheme comes from a special "nostalgia" edition manufactured for a short time in 1992 and 1993. In another simple but telling test, these photographs fluoresce under black light, due to the bleach used to whiten all kinds of paper since 1955 (this technique was used to uncover the famously faked Hitler Diaries bought by Sternmagazine in the 1980s). Bokelberg suspects that high-tech computer imaging may have been used to retouch the prints -- a technology of course not available in Man Ray's era. In one particular instance, the picture Glass Tears has a well-known smear in the negative on the nose of the model. In the Walter version of the print, the smear was invisible, with the grain of the negative apparently reproduced by computer. Over the years, Bokelberg paid Walter a substantial amount for some 50 forged photographs. Earlier this year, after drawn-out negotiations, Bokelberg recovered about $1 million from Jimmy, who brought the sum in cash in a bag to a meeting at his lawyer's office at one o'clock in the morning. Bokelberg's lawyer, Jean Marie Degueldre, plans to file formal charges against Walter and his accomplices. A number of questions remain. Who printed the fake photographs? Did Walter have a co-conspirator, one with access to sophisticated imaging equipment? Are Walter's forgeries spread far and wide through public and private collections? And if so, will they be uncovered -- or remain hidden forever? Since 1983, fake Man Rays have trickled into the market. ArtNet's auction database shows that over 680 lots of vintage Man Ray photos have been sold since 1989. Which are genuine? Art and Auction magazine is preparing a more detailed investigation of the Man Ray market in its February issue. The complete number of forged photos is not yet know. Werner Bokelberg owes 61, at least 26 were sold at the 1983 Drouot auction. Forged photos were also put on auction in London. Paris police is preparing a case against those involved.

Subject:

Looted Art and Congress

I haven't seen any comments on this yet so I thought I would throw it out there...
This last Tuesday (Jan. 27) the House passed the Holocaust Victims Redress Act which suggests "all governments take appropriate action to ensure that artworks confiscated by the Nazi's - or the Soviets in the aftermath of World War II - be returned to their original owners or their heirs."
Anyone out there interested in discussing this? What kind of impact do you think this will have on museums? Any? Just thought I would throw it out and see if anyone is interested. I'd like to hear your thoughts.
If you want more information look at: http://www.house.gov/banking/12798lea.htm
The Committee on Banking and Financial Services will hold a third hearing on issues related to Holocaust restitution on Feb 13th. This hearing will be more focused on looted art. You can find a transcript of past hearings at: http://www.house.gov/banking/ (look under hearings and transcripts by date or title)

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From: christopher seal
Organization: trinity episcopal church, nevada city CA
To: Museum Security Mailinglist
Subject:

Re: Looted Art and Congress

The question of the return of looted art is extremely problematic and far-reaching. It cannot, in all fairness, be confined to holocaust victims, as the article on the Reuss family in MSN today points out. We must consider the wider implications instead of limiting ourselves to a favorite group or two. What about the return of looted art in American museums to the German collections from whence they came? What about the return of art in French museums looted by Napoleon, or Tibetan Art looted by the Chinese during the cultural revolution? To confine ourselves to holocaust victims' looted collections would be most unfair to those who suffered theft, as well.
Christopher Seal

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Man Ray forgeries and ISIS technology

From: Stuart Denenberg
Reply-to: stuartd@verification.com
Organization: Verification/Denenberg
ISIS Update:

I am constantly amazed that the problems I read about regarding the type of forgery exposed in the Man Ray photo case of today's MSN news can be stopped in their tracks with our ISIST technology [ please see MSN archive--or our web page at http://www.netventure.com/vti/isis ] The Ansel Adams family, through the far-sightedness of Sarah Adams, the granddaughter of the famed photographer, has utilised ISIS to register many precious personal masterworks of her grandfather. One especially fascinating incident occurred when a beautiful example of "Moonrise" was brought in for comparison with existing signatures on vintage prints. Through our database we were able to confirm that the two signatures on the 'candidate' image were both genuine--the one on the back being vintage, the one on the front done years later as a courtesy to the owner who wanted a more prominent signature of the photographer! Another coup occurred late last year when a pair of fake, photo-mechanically produced and hand-touched images originally by a French artist, Eugene Galien-Laloue, were discovered on a wall in Sacramento--the couple had paid $14,000 for them! They came to ISIS headquarters in San Francisco [257 Grant Avenue--415-788-8411] and received notarized images, and affadavits as to the false nature of the works. After hearing from the French dealer who had sold them these forgeries five years prior--"C'est impossible!", they traveled with their ISIS documentation to Paris, presented the documents--and watched in amazement and pleasure as the dealer wrote them a $14,000 check!! For more information on this innovative ISIS technology, call Stuart Denenberg, Chairman of the Board, at 415-788-8411--or e-mail at stuartd@verification.com!

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Guatemala demands MFA return of artifacts

By John Yemma, Globe Staff, 01/30/98

Stepping up pressure on the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, the government of Guatemala has formally demanded the return of 32 pre-Columbian objects showcased in a new MFA gallery and has threatened to sue if it does not comply. In a letter to the MFA's board of trustees dated Jan. 27, Guatemala's vice minister of culture, Carlos Enrique Zea Flores, said the Mayan vessels and figurines - donated to the museum more than a decade ago by MFA trustee Landon T. Clay and now part of the Gallery of Art of the Ancient Americas - were exported from his country without authorization and therefore are ''illicit.'' If the pieces are not returned voluntarily, Zea Flores wrote, ''we will be forced to initiate the appropriate legal actions.'' MFA spokeswoman Dawn Griffin said the museum had not received the letter as of yesterday and had no comment on it. On Jan. 12, Zea Flores, accompanied by Guatemala's consul general to New York, met over lunch at the MFA with museum director Malcolm Rogers and assistant director Brent Benjamin. At that time, Guatemala requested the return of the vessels and suggested his country might eventually allow the museum to display the pieces on loan. Griffin said the Guatemalan visit to the MFA was discussed at a trustees meeting on Jan. 22 but would give no further details. Guatemala says the artifacts - most of which are ceremonial drinking vessels decorated with the images of Mayan kings and mythological figures - were looted from tombs in the country's Peten district and then exported in violation of Guatemalan laws dating from 1948. In a 1993 civil case in Chicago, Guatemala won the return of artifacts after a federal judge ruled that their illegal export from Guatemala could be construed as a violation of a US criminal statute against receiving stolen property. The US Customs Service has been investigating how the Guatemalan items got into the United States. It is also looking into antiquities from Mali on loan to the MFA from the collection of William E. Teel, of the museum's board of overseers.
This story ran on page B07 of the Boston Globe on 01/30/98.
c Copyright 1998 Globe Newspaper Company.

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Documents talk of art trades between Swiss and Nazis

10:54 p.m. Jan 30, 1998 Eastern

LOS ANGELES, Jan 30 (Reuters) - The Nazi distaste for ``degenerate art'' resulted in hundreds of paintings, including masterworks of impressionist art, being sent to Switzerland in return for ``second-rate German'' works, according to recently discovered U.S. World War II documents. The World Jewish Congress, whose researchers found the documents in the National Archives, said in a memo on Friday that the reports showed that ``Switzerland was a principal destination and 'laundering' clearinghouse for the Nazi plunder of Jewish-owned art works. The Jewish group said 1945 documents from the Office of Strategic Services, the CIA's wartime predecessor, recounted how hundreds of looted paintings were sent to Switzerland. Dozens of Swiss galleries and individuals received them, often trading German paintings valued by the Nazis in exchange. The looted paintings sent by the Nazis to Switzerland included works by Van Gogh, Degas, Cezanne and Goya. One OSS report said in 1945 that the hundreds of looted paintings in Switzerland ``lay in bank vaults, at forwarding agents, in repositories or in private hands either in German, Swiss or other names.''
The OSS said that masterworks of impressionist art were especially routed to Switzerland because of Nazi distaste for ``degenerate'' art. In return the Germans received ``second-rate'' Germanic or Dutch paintings. One Lucerne art business in 1942 made a sale worth about 250,000 Swiss francs of German and Dutch paintings to a Berlin dealer who acted as an agent for Nazi official Hermann Goering. The dealer in return received a selection of impressionist paintings to choose from. Most of those paintings came from collections of prominent French Jewish collectors that had been confiscated by the Nazis. In September, the WJC established a commission on art recovery headed by Ronald Lauder, the head of New York's Museum of Modern Art. The WJC, which has been investigating Nazi looted art as well as Swiss financial dealings with the Nazis, said that during the war the Nazis stole about 100,000 art works from France alone. More than 55,000 of those have never been returned. The OSS records talked of 200 cases of looted art being shipped to Switzerland from Paris in 1944.
Copyright 1998 Reuters Limited.

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McAlpine turns down museum refund plea

(artefacts McAlpine sold the museum some years before it emerged they had been stolen)

THE British Museum is seeking a u55,000 refund from Lord McAlpine of West Green, the former Conservative Party treasurer and antiquities dealer, for Iron Age artefacts he sold the museum some years before it emerged they had been stolen. The collection of 21 miniature bronze shields, dating from the 1st or 2nd century BC, has been returned to the owner of the land from which they were taken illegally. Lord McAlpine is believed not to have responded to the request. He bought the shields in good faith through one of several dealers in a complex chain. "I didn't see any reason why I should reimburse the British Museum when there was no chance that I would get my money back from anyone else," he says in The Art Newspaper, published today. He says it was the museum's decision to return the shields, although "they probably did the right thing". However, the museum has seen its acquisitions budget cut to u500,000, a record low, and cannot afford to write off the money. It has found itself so short of cash that its trustees were last year forced to consider entry charges. The treasures were found on a farm near Salisbury by two men with metal detectors in 1985. Extensive research by the museum, coupled with inquiries by the police, led to the trial in 1995 of two men who pleaded guilty to theft. The dealer to whom they sold was acquitted; the court ruled the objects had been stolen from the landowner. One British Museum source said yesterday: "The widely-held view is that McAlpine does not come out well of the affair." Another said people had hoped Lord MacAlpine would repay the proceeds. The museum did consider taking legal action for return of the money but decided its case was not strong enough. Lord McAlpine had bought the pieces in good faith and had done nothing illegal. The collection had changed hands several times before it reached him. The museum still hopes to acquire the shields, which are 4 to 10cm in length and remain in its custody while the daughter of the original owner, who has since died, negotiates a sale to cover death duties. The initial purchase was made with help from the National Heritage Memorial Fund, which hailed the "remarkable find ... unique in the field of Celtic art from Britain". The Art Newspaper is critical of the museum's conduct. It says that "the purchase ... broke one of the British Museum's most important rules on acquisitions: that archaeological artefacts are not bought without a proper provenance". It is museum policy not to buy unprovenanced antiquities. A spokesman explained that the then director, Sir David Wilson, and the trustees viewed the works as of such unique importance that "just this once" they were prepared to take the risk. A court ruled that the miniature shields had been stolen Archaeologists feel the museum was right to have bought the pieces. If it had not done so, one of the most spectacular finds, the Salisbury hoard - some 600 items dating from 2000BC to 220BC - might never have been discovered. Ian Stead, the museum's former deputy keeper of prehistoric and Romano-British antiquities, said there was "nothing like it in British prehistory". Under Margaret Thatcher, Lord McAlpine, who left school at 16 to join the building firm founded by his great-grandfather, raised more than u100 million for the Tory party. He also found time to collect everything from Roman coins to shepherds' crooks and to establish his own gallery in Cork Street, London. He has also become known as a generous benefactor to the arts, for example donating 59 works to the Tate Gallery in 1970. He mentioned to The Art Newspaper that he had sponsored the publication of a British Museum book three years ago. "The sales are benefiting the museum and it cost me more than the price of the shields." However, he admitted the case had led him to give up dealing: "The risks of finding yourself in this kind of situation were high. It was a lesson, and a lesson that everyone is learning. I closed my business."
(Times of London)

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Masterpieces go at a loss in Japan slump

FROM ROBERT WHYMANT IN TOKYO

THE art world is seeing an avalanche of masterpieces forced back on to the market at a fraction of their previous value as the business slump bites in Japan. The latest sale, carried out in secret, was of the world's most expensive painting, acquired by a Japanese businessman at the height of his country's boom. Vincent van Gogh's Portrait of Dr Gachet has been discreetly sold at a loss by his creditor banks, The Times has learnt. Sotheby's in New York purchased the artwork for about u6.2 million - far below the u51 million Ryoei Saito paid at auction in 1990. Japanese banks and credit firms are struggling to sell their hoard of precious artworks, estimated to be worth u8.5 billion. The Van Gogh, sold late last year, was the second of the late Mr Saito's trophies snapped up by Sotheby's. Earlier this week news of another discreet deal involving the world's second costliest painting emerged. Renoir's Le Moulin de la Galette , bought by Mr Saito for u48 million in 1990 was picked up by Sotheby's for u27.5 million. Taken together, the paintings were sold off at a u30 million loss - a bitter humiliation Mr Saito did not live to see. When Japan's speculative asset bubble burst in 1990, prices of Impressionists and Post-Impressionists - the Japanese favourites - dropped 40 per cent. Sotheby's Tokyo office refused to comment on the recent sales as did other art dealers. The silence contrasts with the cries of elation when Mr Saito spent almost u100 million on the two paintings in a single week at Christie's New York auction in May 1990.
(Times of London)

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