> To: "'Museum Security Mailinglist'"
> Subject:
RE: Sotheby's & Dr. Gachet
> Did that Times of London article say that Sotheby's was believed to> have bought van Gogh's Portrait of Dr. Gachet for the equivalent of
> about $10 million? That's quite a drop from its $75-million auction
> top! W
>
Hello Walter,
It was pointed out to my me by one of our subscribers that the original sign for English Pounds leads to unreadable gibberish in some e-mail programs. So below you can read a repost of the original message in which the word 'Pound' is used for the U.K. currency.
Ton Cremers
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 Pound 6.2 million - far below the Pound 51 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 Pound 8.5 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 Pound 27.5 million. Taken together, the paintings were sold off at
a Pound 30 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 Pound 100 million on the
two paintings in a single week at Christie's New York auction in May
1990. (Times of London)
From: "Stephen C. Sharpe"
Subject:
SIMON '98 is Online and FREE!
SIMON 98 is Online and FREE! Visit us at http://www.simon-net.comWe would like to invite you to visit the all new SIMON '98. Used by thousands of security professionals each month, SIMON has become the most popular security-related site on the internet. SIMON includes:
- Security Forums
- Security News and Information (Updated Daily)
- Security Industry Database (add your web site link for free.)
Subject:
Alert All
Monday, 9 February 1998 StockholmSirs,
The company Alert All offers all museums and institutions the
opportunity, free of charge, to advertise for their stolen treasures
through a database accessible via Internet. Insurance companies and
burglarised individuals can of course also advertise through the
database but not free of charge. For them there is a small fee to be
paid per object.
Alert All is at present time trying to build up a database for stolen
property. Not only can stolen art effects or paintings be found there
but also objects like cars, boats and other valuables. There is a
great need for spreading information about stolen property to as many
people as possible as fast as possible to prevent trade with the
objects. The only media that is world-wide and open 24 hours per day
is Internet. So, let us use in a positive way. Today in Europe, we
have very little control over what is being transported out of our
countries. Since the free trade started, the customs control within
the common market is almost not exciting. This means that thieves and
other criminal elements can quite easily steal objects in one country
and sell it in another almost white out any or little risk at all. By
using the Alert All database you can spread information about your
stolen objects to a very wide selection of people. All sorts are using
Internet, young and old, male and female, private or professionals and
therefore the thieves can not know who might have information about
the objects that they have in their possession. This of course also
concerns the trade in objects banned for export. Looting is an
enormous problem for several countries in the world. We need to
document as much as possible of our known treasures. When there is a
photo or sketch of object missing than there is a bigger chance to
identify and finding it. This is something that concerns countries
world-wide. Parts of the cultural heritage of Nicaragua, Peru, China,
South Africa and Sweden to mention a few are at the moment being
traded with illegally and transported out of its country of origin.
Let us all try to prevent this illicit trade by spreading information
about these objects through out the world. By advertising a photo and
a description of a stolen or missing object in the database we will
make it harder to sell this items. Who can claim it is bought in god
faith when it is advertised as stolen or missing on Internet? For
further information, please contact:
Alert All AB
Box 24 109
SE-104 51 Stockholm, Sweden
Telephone: +46 (0) 8 663 86 60
Facsimile: +46 (0) 70 411 07 80
E-mail: info@alert-all.se
http://www.alert-all.se
From: nccs-wf@fbi.gov
Subject:
INFO - FBI Appeal for Information to Antiquarian Book Dealers
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the United States Attorney's
Office for the District of Columbia seek information regarding any efforts by
James W. Gilreath to sell rare books.
On January 22, 1998, Gilreath, formerly employed as an American History
specialist in the Library of Congress Rare Book Division, was indicted in the
District of Columbia on counts of Interstate Transportation of Stolen Property,
Receiving Stolen Property, and First Degree Theft. According to the indictment
returned in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, the
stolen books include a two volume French translation of Walt Whitman's "Leaves
of Grass", and books associated with Horace Traubel. The thefts allegedly
occurred between 1992 and 1997.
Anyone having information regarding Gilreath's efforts to sell rare
books should send a reply e-mail to nccs-wf@fbi.gov. Replies should include a
summary of relevant information, and your name and telephone number so you can
be contacted by the FBI.
Thank you for your assistance in this matter.
SA Kenneth Welch
FBI/Washington Field Office
703-762-3000
nccs-wf@fbi.gov
From: "Joseph Delci" joeyed@sprintmail.com
Subject:
RE: Looted Art from Congress
It has been interesting to hear all of these replies to the Nazi looting of
art to fuel its war machine. The sad fact is that many museums have reduced
their roles as cultural learning centers to object-oriented, elitist
monstrosities frenzied by the boom of tourism. They themselves have taken
up campaigns of plundering, only this time of the heritage of many cultures
as well as people like the Reuss or Goodman families. To vicims of genocies
such as those of the Nazis, the Khmer Rouge under Pol Pot in Cambodia and
the Turkish massacre of Armenians earlier this century, the memories are
very real and impossible to bury. Native americans got a helping hand in
1990 with the Native American Grave Protection and Repatriation Act to
return items to them taken during the eradication of their ancestors under
the doctrines of Manifest Destiny. Why does this issue continue to be
ignored by museums all over the world? Quite simply, because of money and
power, nothing more. It is despicable that any museum would even display an
item which may have been acquired under such horrible motives, and as
institutes of learning they must assume their responsibility to condemn
those acts, or at least to honor the questions with an inquiry. Museums more
and more forsake the value of humanity for the sake of their own egocentric
ideologies. I assure you be it Guatemala, Tibet, a Nazi victim, Mali, or
Athens, the imapct is major and it is global.
Joseph Delci
Chicago, Illinois
U.S. Museums To Check For Nazi-Looted Art
By Arthur Spiegelman
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Major American art museums are going to check
the ownership of their holdings to determine if any of their artworks
were once looted by the Nazis, the World Jewish Congress said Monday.
Elan Steinberg, the WJC's executive director, said the American
Association of Art Museum Directors, composed of the 170 largest
museums in North America, has set up a 13-member task force to
establish guidelines for claims arising from the seizure of artworks
by the Nazis before and during the Second World War.
The task force will be headed by Philippe de Montebello, the director
of New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Steinberg said the association informed him that its task force will
report back on what the museums find with regard to the ownership of
their holdings. The task force will also set up guidelines for museums
on what measures to take if a work of art is in dispute.
Claims have recently been made for paintings at the Seattle Art
Museum and questions have been raised about works in the Boston
Museum of Fine Art.
The issue of Nazi looted art has come into focus following the
continuing controversy over Holocaust-era assets in Swiss banks.
Last month, Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau caused a
stir in the art world when he instituted legal action that stopped two
paintings by Austrian artist Egon Schiele on loan to the Museum of
Modern Art from being returned to Vienna's Leopold Museum pending the
outcome of a criminal investigation of their ownership.
The House Banking Committee, headed by Iowa Republican James Leach,
will hold hearings on Thursday to review recent developments in
international efforts to identify and make appropriate restitution for
Nazi-looted assets.
The chairman of the WJC's recently formed Commission on Art Recovery,
Museum of Modern Art chairman Ronald Lauder, is expected to ask the
committee to support a mediation mechanism to resolve disputes over
looted art.
Lauder will argue that Holocaust survivors and their heirs should be
spared the long process they currently have to endure through costly
legal action to have their works of art returned.
A recent document found in the U.S. National Archives showed that in
1945, the director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art estimated the
value of art stolen by the Nazis in Europe at $2.5 billion dollars at
postwar prices -- more than the total value of all the art in America
at that time.
The WJC said that in France alone, 100,000 works of art were stolen
by the Nazis and some 55,000 pieces were not returned.
The WJC's art recovery commission is currently creating a master list
of looted artworks to help investigators identify and ultimately
retrieve items.
A recent WJC study showed that many Impressionist paintings,
considered to be degenerate by Nazi leaders, were laundered through
Swiss galleries and later sold to museums and private collections
around the world.
Reuters/Variety
From: "Dorothy G. Shinn"
Reply-to: dshinn@neo.lrun.com
Organization: SA/Research
To: Museum Security Mailinglist
Subject:
Re: Looted Art and Congress
MSN wrote: > The discussion regarding the return of looted art has thus far> failed to consider some rather significant facts. In the case of
> Holocaust victims, the looting was only part of an overall campaign
> of genocide.
> >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.
The reason no museum wants to get into the business of returning
looted art is that nearly all of them have looted art in one form or
another. If we were being entirely honest about this, the era in which
art was looted would hardly matter; who looted it would hardly matter;
from whom it was looted wouldn't be an issue. The fact that an art
object was taken without permission at any time by anyone from any
place should in itself be a prima face case for returning it. None of
the museums will ever agree to this of course, because it would mean
stripping entire collections in some cases (just think of what would
happen to certain museums of "natural history"!). But it would be the
ultimate answer to this issue. And, if we're not going to play games,
favorites, set limits or be exclusionary or biased in any way, it is
the only answer. Now. Who wants to go first? --
DShinn
Date sent: Wed, 11 Feb 1998 09:26:49 -0800
From:
Subject:
Stolen Item (medallion)
A thief broke into the house of one of our donors last night and made
off with one of the family treasures, a medallion. In an attempt to
assist him, I am posting this information.
In 1925 the Newbery Award was presented to Charles J. Finger for his
TALES FROM SILVER LANDS. The award, in the form of a medallion, is
laid in a small velvet lined box. If anyone has information on the
whereabouts of the medallion they may contact Charles Leflar, Mr.
Finger's grandson, at cleflar@comp.uark.edu or me at the below
address.
Thank you.
Michael J. Dabrishus
Head of Special Collections
University of Arkansas Libraries
Fayetteville, AR 72701-1201
(501) 575-5577
(501) 575-6656 (FAX)
Internet: MDABRISH@Saturn.UARK.EDU
Date sent: Wed, 11 Feb 1998 08:32:19 -0800
From: "Emily Bergman" BM.GAB@RLG.ORG
Subject:
Stolen materials (book)
The following has been stolen recently from the home of a friend of
the Autry Museum of Western Heritage. The museum is representing this
friend in the matter.
Russell, Charles Marion. Good Medicine: The Illustrated Letters of
Charles M. Russell. With an introduction by Will Rogers and a
biographical note by Nancy C. Russell. 1st ed. Garden City, N.Y.:
Doubleday, Doran, & Co., 1930. xii, 162 p. : ill., facsims. (some
col.) ; 32 cm. Signed by Nancy Russell and dated 12/25/1930 to the W.
Parks family.
Laid into the book is an illustrated letter from C.M. Russell to Con
Price of Gilroy, California. In the upper left-hand corner is a
watercolor illustration of a cowboy roping a steer. It also includes
a letter of authenticity from Fred Renner.
If anyone know about the book and letter or they are offered to
anyone, please contact:
Emily Bergman, Curator of Rare Books, Autry Museum of Western
Heritage, 4700 Western Heritage Way, Los Angeles, CA 90027
213-667-2000 x321, bm.gab@rlg.org
From: Lyonette Louis-Jacques[SMTP:llou@MIDWAY.UCHICAGO.EDU]
Forwarded by: Antony F Anderson antonya@antonya.ace.co.uk
To: Multiple recipients of list INT-LAW
Subject:
CONFERENCE ON NAZI GOLD AND TREATMENT OF HOLOCAUST ASSETS (fwd)
INT-LAW folks, FYI (forwarded from the JEWISHLAWPROF-L list). The direct link for more information about this conference is:http://www.law.whittier.edu/sypo/sypo.htm
I have also made a link to it at my "Nazi Gold" page at:
http://www.lib.uchicago.edu/~llou/nazigold.html
Paz,
Lyo.
Lyonette Louis-Jacques | llou@midway.uchicago.edu
Foreign and International Law | Restriction of the use of force
Librarian and Lecturer in Law | [for] self-defense...a basic
University of Chicago Law School | principle...in civilized states.
(begin excerpt of forwarded message)
COSTA MESA, CA -- Whittier Law School will hold a conference on
Sunday, March 1, 1998, from 8:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., that will bring
together twenty experts from the United States and Europe to discuss
efforts to reconcile the issue of gold and other assets of the victims of
the Holocaust stolen by the Nazis during World War II.
Survivors of the Holocaust, their relatives, human rights organizations
and private law firms are seeking the return of millions of dollars of gold
purported to have been confiscated by the Nazi regime and funneled to
Switzerland and other nations during World War II. Additional claims are
being made against proceeds from insurance policies purchased by
Holocaust victims on the eve of World War II, funds held in Swiss bank
accounts, and art treasures looted by the Nazis which found their way
into private collections and museums.
Topics to be discussed are claims against the Swiss and other nations;
claims against European insurance companies; claims stemming from art
stolen by the Nazis; and the financial involvement of neutral nations with
the Nazis during World War II.
Christoph Meili, the former Swiss bank guard who was fired last year
after saving Holocaust-era bank records, will speak at the conference.
Mr. Meili has since been granted permanent residency in the United
States by President Clinton.
Additionally, a special screening of the A&E Television Network
documentary,
Switzerland's Nazi Gold, and a dialogue with the film's producer, Steve
Crisman, will take place on Saturday evening, February 28, 1998, at 7
p.m.
The keynote speaker will be Lord Janner of Braunstone, Q.C., member of
the British House of Lords, Chairman of the Holocaust Educational Trust,
a Vice-President of World Jewish Congress, and initiator of the 41-nation
conference on Nazi gold in London.
Victor D. Comras, U.S. Department of State Senior Coordinator for Nazi
Assets and Restitution Issues, will also make a special appearance.
Other speakers include Rabbi Andrew Baker, Director of European
Affairs, The American Jewish Committee; Dr. Michael Berenbaum,
President and CEO, The Shoah Foundation; Paul L. Hoffman, Chairman of
the Board of Directors of Amnesty International-USA; and Neal M. Sher,
President, The International Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists -
American Section.
Ongoing lawsuits and claims will be discussed by Professor Burt
Neuborne, New York University Law School, and attorneys Edward
Fagan, Michael Hausfeld, and Martin Mendelsohn, representing claimants
in class actions filed in the United States; Barry Fisher, addressing the
claims of the Roma peoples (Gypsies); Owen Pell, representing family
members seeking the return of a Nazi-stolen Matisse painting; Nick
Goodman, plaintiff in federal court seeking the return of a Nazi-stolen
Degas painting; and Professor Ralph Steinhardt, George Washington
University Law School.
Dr. Marc R. Richter, Swiss lawyer representing Swiss claimants, will be
coming from Zurich to provide a local perspective.
Deborah Senn, Washington State Insurance Commissioner and Chair of
the National Association of Insurance Commissioners Holocaust
Insurance Issues Working Group, and Eric Wollman, Assistant General
Counsel, Office of the New York City Comptroller, will discuss
involvement of state and local governments with Holocaust claims.
Two authors on the subject will address the symposium: Hector
Feliciano, The Lost Museum: The Nazi Conspiracy To Steal the World's
Greatest Works of Art, and Isabel Vincent, Hitler's Silent Partners: Swiss
Banks, Nazi Gold And The Pursuit of Justice.
[...]
From: "John A. Visser" visser@thiinline.com
Subject:
COPYRIGHT; Request for pointers for an interested amateur
Greetings,
I have recently become interested in the topic of intellectual property
regarding works of art, and wonder if you could (simply) answer a question,
or direct me to a source of material wherein I might find the answer:
Who owns, if anyone, the copyright for works of art that are old enough
that no complete record of such ownership exists, or are simply so old
that the country, or law, did not exist when the work was produced? For
example, does a museum have the right to control the use of a reproduction
of an image of an original work in its collection? As a more specific
example, may I go to a museum and photograph a Vermeer and produce posters
for sale from this photograph?
Thanks,,
John Visser
From: "MSN" securma@xs4all.nl > To: securma@museum-security.org
> From: "John A. Visser" visser@thiinline.com
> Subject:
RE: COPYRIGHT; Request for pointers for an interested amateur
> Who owns, if anyone, the copyright for works of art that are old enough> that no complete record of such ownership exists, or are simply so old
> that the country, or law, did not exist when the work was produced? For
> example, does a museum have the right to control the use of a reproduction
> of an image of an original work in its collection? As a more specific
> example, may I go to a museum and photograph a Vermeer and produce posters
> for sale from this photograph?
>
Dear John Visser,
Your request for information has been forwarded to the Museum
Security Mailinglist. I am not a copyright expert. However what I do
know is, that copyright laws differ from one country to the other. In
most countries copyright remains with the legal heirs for some fifty
to seventy years. Paintings owned by museums cannot be reproduced
without permission of the museum. I know of one case in which a Swiss
dairy factory used a Vermeer image (yes: the famous 'milmaid) on milk
cartons without the written consent of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam,
and they had to pay for it. Copyright is one of the means to raise
money for museums, and is one of the reasons why museums do not want
you to use artificial light and tripods making photographs. Of course
there also are security and safety reasons, but copyright too is a
motive not to allow the shooting of 'professional' photographs. My
advice to you: make as many photographs as you like, within the rules
set by the museums, but never start making reproductions other than
for personal use without permission for this may cost you a lot of
money.
Ton Cremers
Date sent: Thu, 12 Feb 1998 14:21:33 -0800
From: "Michael Botwinick" BOTWINIM@wpoffice.unx.uci.edu
To: TonCremers@museum-security.org
Subject:
RE: COPYRIGHT; Request for pointers for an interested amateur
Dear Ton CremersRe: your exchange with John Visser & copyright.
I think your response was right, in the sense that it circled the point. In the last copyright reform, the US moved closer to the international standard, and copywright now runs something like lifetime of the creator plus 50 years.
The Vermeer issue, and cases like it are not copyright issues, but "droite morale" issues. As it exists in France, "droite morale" gives creators considerable control over their work above and beyond copyright.
So a museum cannot copyright a Vermeer. Copyright has expired or never existed. What the Rijksmuseum (and others) is copyrighting is the Photograph that their photographer has taken, not the underlying art work. Therefore, they control the use of the Vermeer by legitimately copyrighting the photograph, and controlling access to the piece so that publications quality photographs cannot be taken (hence no flash, no tripods etc.)
If you are taking photos in a museum and you have obtained a camera permit, the rules on the permit will govern what you can and cannot do (they often say photos for research or personal use-not for publication). If the museum allows photos, no rules established, and you take a photo of a work no longer covered by copyright (say something 200 years old), you can do whatever you want (as far as copyright law is concerned...you are working with your photograph, your creation). The issue will then move to the area of what laws exist in the country in question governing the commercial explotation of artistic patrimony.
Hope this adds to the discussion. Post, edit, cannibalize or trash this message as you see fit.
Michael Botwinick
mbotwini@uci.edu
From: biomatrx@shore.net (Frank McDonald)
Subject:
PROVENANCE;
the Wildenstein Gallery and the alleged allegations that Georges Wildenstein arranged for his collections be preserved and returned to him when confiscated by the German ERR and Goering in 1941. Date sent: Thu, 12 Feb 1998 18:31:07 -0500Ton Cremers:
I am the author of PROVENANCE, published 1979, Little, Brown & CO.
based in part on the Wildenstein Gallery and the alleged allegations
that Georges Wildenstein arranged for his collections be preserved and
returned to him when confiscated by the German ERR and Goering in
1941.
Twenty years have passed and new documents and renewed interest in the
issue of nazi looting and lost paintings in general and in particular
the story of the Wildensteins requires some updating of this tragic
story.
I am updating the story and have a substantial collection of documents
as a result of many years research. If any of your subscribers would
like to contact me or has any information on this issue, eg.
Wildenstein-DeQoy-Fabiani-& Co. to add, please contact.
Frank Mc Donald
Artist Wins Suit Over Mural
Fresno museum must pay $10,000 for obliterating her work
Torri Minton, Chronicle Staff Writer
Maxine Olson spent months creating a mural of pre-Columbian paradise
in the Fresno Art Museum. She thought her painting would be there
forever. But Olson was nearly sick to her stomach when her artwork
was deliberately painted over within a year. Three years later, Olson
is a hero to her artist colleagues. Under a little-known law
protecting the integrity of art, Olson has been awarded $10,000 from
the museum. ``It was a matter of making those people accountable,''
said Olson, 66. ``I was angry and hurt. I felt like I wanted to do
something for the artists.'' The museum should have notified Olson of
its intentions to paint over her mural as part of its redesign of a
gallery entryway, said San Francisco attorney M.J. Bogatin. That
would have allowed Olson to at least remove her painting. The work
was meticulously researched, taken from a fragment of an ancient
Talaocan mural of water gods in the afterlife, a place people went
when they drowned, Olson said. ``It was a labor of love,'' Bogatin
said. Less than a year later, Olson saw that her mural was gone. ``I
just stood there and looked at the wall,'' she said. ``I turned
around and went home. I was sick to my stomach.'' Olson, of Kingsburg
in Fresno County, ended up suing the museum under the state Art
Preservation Act and the federal Visual Artists Rights Act. The laws
are meant to protect artists' rights as creators of a work, and to
protect the art from any ``deforming or mutilating change,'' Bogatin
said. Bogatin has handled about a half-dozen such art preservation
claims, including the case of the murals that graced a Chinatown
housing development for nearly 15 years. In 1994, artist Josie Grant
discovered that the city whitewashed one of her murals, and planned
to remove others. She was awarded $15,000, and a promise from the
Housing Authority to cooperate if she wants to create other murals.
Olson has created two murals in the Fresno Art Museum near a display
of pre-Columbian art. One of them, a 10-by-10.5-foot painting, was
painted over when an exhibit called ``Earth, Wind and Fire'' was
placed in the gallery. The museum director said at the time that the
size and bright colors of Olson's mural ``confused visitors.''
Olson's other lawyer, Scott Williams of Fresno, sued the museum in
U.S. District Court, asking for $10,000 in general damages. The
museum also agreed to notify Olson if it wants to change any of the
remaining mural, her lawyers said.
c1998 San Francisco Chronicle
Ex-Japan MOF official took cut in art deals
TOKYO, Feb 12 (Reuters) - A former senior Japanese Finance Ministry
official is being sued by an art dealer demanding the return of some
of the 200 million yen ($1.62 million) in commissions the ex-official
took as go-between for sales of artwork.
The suit filed in Tokyo District Court said former Banking Bureau
chief Hiromi Tokuda, 75, had arranged for the sale of Renoir
paintings, Rodin sculpture and other pieces to Takefuji, a consumer
finance company.
The plaintiff, Ginza art dealer Salon de Bona, is seeking the return
of nine million yen in commissions paid to Tokuda, after some of the
sales fell through.
The art dealer sought Tokuda's help, assuming his prestige and
connections as a former Finance Ministry official would bring in
business.
Tokuda had acted as go-between for the gallery between 1983 and 1988,
engineering the sales of 11 artworks to Takefuji and other companies.
Tokuda denied taking any commissions for art sales.
News of the affair comes after a succession of corruption scandals
involving MOF officials.
The series of revelations have shocked Japan, where the mandarins who
control the nation's finances were held up as models of probity.
($1-123 yen)
((Tokyo Newsroom (813) 3432-8022 tokyo.newsroom+reuters.com))
From: Antony F Anderson antonya@antonya.ace.co.uk To: "'Ton Cremers (webmaster Museum Security Network)'" Subject:
Beutekunst
Die Presse, Vienna 13 February 1998American Museums check stocks.
American Museums will now thoroughly check whether or not they have
Nazi looted art in their stock. The World Jewish Congress is going
to put together a comprehensive list of stolen art.
Just in advance of a hearing before the US House of Representatives
yesterday, Thursday, and ahead of the statement by NY State
Prosecuting Attorney Morgenthau in the Schiele case, advertised for
Friday, US museums have agreed to go through their stocks searching
for works of art that were stolen by the Nazis during World War II. As
a first step, the 170 biggest museums in the USA have put in place a
13 strong investigating commission that will, among other things,
establish how museums will proceed.......
It is already known that Museums in Seattle and Boston are in
possession of works of art whose provenance is uncertain. The
Commission of Looted Art of the World Jewish Congress wants to put
together a comprehensive list of stolen art before the year 2000.
Such a list should not be generally made available. "If we become
suspicious, we will investigate, instead of immediately making it
public -for instance over the Internet.", said Constance Lowenthal of
the World Jewish Congress at an experts conferenc According to a
recently rediscovered document in the US National Archives, the then
Director of the Metropolitan Museum estimated the value of art
stolen by the Nazis in Europe to have a value of 2.5 billion dollars
(32 Billion Austrian Schillings, 2.3 billion Euro) in 1945.
According to the World Jewish Congress 100,000 works of art were
stolen in France alone - and only 55,000 were given back to their
rightful owners.
A new study shows moreover that many Impressionist paintings came
into private collections and museums after the War via Swiss
galleries.
Senator Alfonse D'Amato had already announced a law initiative on
Sunday, that will make it easier to investigate the whereabouts of
Looted Art.
Copyright "Die Presse", Wien 13 Feb 1998 edition
Translated by Antony Anderson
antonya@antonya.ace.co.uk
http://museum-security.org/denney/index.htm
From: Sally Shelton sshelton@sdnhm.org Subject:
Museo de La Plata
La Plata, Argentina, January 1998
This circular is in request of help from the world scientific
community in order to: 1) prevent the alteration of the historical
building of the MUSEO DE CIENCIAS NATURALES DE LA PLATA; 2) avoid
partial or total destruction and loss of important collections (in
anthropology, botany, geology, paleontology and zoology).
This situation is the result of a planned enlargement of the Museum
building, which was decided upon without considering our real existing
needs and against the opinion of the Museum authorities (CODEP), and
infringing national and international rules protecting human
scientific and cultural heritage.
Works are scheduled to be completed by the end of 1999 and include
the demolition of important parts of the present building, including
significant alterations to its original design. Furthermore, lack of
planification for moving important collections, books and periodicals
will surely result in the loss and destruction of many irreplaceable
materials.
If you share our concern, please help by writing to the following
officials and asking others to do the same (model of letter included
below):
- Dr. Carlos S. Menem, Presidente, Balcarce 50, 1000 Buenos Aires.
E-mail: spyd@presidencia.gov.ar
- Dr. Eduardo Duhalde, Gobernador, Calle 6, e. 51 y 53, 1900 La
Plata, Buenos Aires. E-mail: sistemas@dpc.sg.gba.gov.ar
- Ing. Luis Lima, Rector, Universidad Nacional de La
Plata, Calle 7 No. 776, 1900 La Plata. E-mail: www@unlp.unlp.edu.ar
CODEP
This letter is to express my concern, as member of the
international scientific community, for the planned enlargement of the
MUSEO DE CIENCIAS NATURALES DE LA PLATA (Licitación Pública no. 4/97
de la Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Expediente 100-46835/97).
As far as it is known that enlargement includes the demolition of
important parts of the historical building, with significant
alterations to its original design. Furthermore, moving important
collections, books and periodicals will surely result in the partial
or total destruction and loss of irreplaceable materials.
I strongly request your mediation in order to prevent the
alteration of the historical building of the MUSEO DE CIENCIAS
NATURALES DE LA PLATA and to avoid the loss of important collections
in anthropology, botany, geology, paleontology and zoology.
Yours sincerely
Sally Y. Shelton
Director, Collections Care and Conservation
President-Elect, Society for the Preservation of Natural History
Collections
San Diego Natural History Museum, P. O. Box 1390
San Diego, CA 92112
phone (619) 232-3821, x226; FAX (619) 232-0248; sshelton@sdnhm.org
http://www.sdnhm.org
=========
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The following is an abbreviated message. Please contact the original sender if you want more information. Information about security products is delivered to the list without any responsibility of your list moderator
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From: Jianxinwu@aol.com
To: securma@museum-security.org
Subject:
CCTV Products and EAS Tags
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From: MediaNPCA@aol.com
NPCA Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: February 12, 1998
CONTACT: Vicki Paris, (202)223-6722, ext. 120
PARK ADVOCACY GROUP OPPOSES ATTEMPTS TO WEAKEN ANTIQUITIES ACT OF 1906
Great-Grandson of President Theodore Roosevelt Testifies on NPCA's Behalf
Washington, D.C. -- Theodore Roosevelt, IV testified today before the Senate
Subcommittee on Parks, Historic Preservation, and Recreation, opposing
Congressional measures to weaken the Antiquities Act of 1906. He testified on
behalf of the National Parks and Conservation Association (NPCA), which has
led efforts to preserve the President's power to declare national monuments
under the law. President Teddy Roosevelt, Roosevelt's great-grandfather,
signed the Act in 1906 which led to protection for national treasures such as
Zion, Glacier Bay, Olympic, Denali, Grand Canyon, and Death Valley National
Parks.
The following is only part of the latest 'World Heritage News.
At the end of this message you'll find a link to the complete World
Heritage News mailing. I have only copied those parts relevant for
the Museum Security Mailinglist.
How prepared are you to respond to the unique conditions when a disaster is
visited upon cultural property and historic structures? What is the latest
news on what can be done to safeguard, respond, and recover our irreplaceable
cultural heritage? What advice and resources are available to the
corporation, business or homeowner who have damaged archival records,
products or heirloom objects? How can musuems and individual or
institutional fine arts collectors protect and restore the world's most
valuable paintings, sculptures, documents and other important historical
artifacts should an emergency occur?
The balance of the week will focus on the theme of Recovery - the treatment
of cultural materials after a disaster event - in sessions conducted by AIC
specialty groups (Objects, Paintings, Textiles, Books & Paper, Wooden
Artifacts, Architecture, Photographic Materials, Research & Technical
Studies, and Conservators in Private Practice).
Any individual or institution with an interest in preserving valuable
personal and professional property and learning how to prepare for and
respond to disasters and emergencies is encouraged to attend!
"RISK ANALYSIS 98" is a conference organized by the Wessex Institute of
Technology in U.K.; Universitat Jaume I, Centro de Investigaciones sobre
Desertificatcion-CIDE, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientificas,
University of Valencia, Generalitat Valenciana, and Universidad Internacional
Menendez Pelayo, in Spain. It is a conference focused on "The analysis and
management of risk and the mitigation of hazards, including computer
simulation in Risk Analysis and Hazard Mitigation," but a session open to
more general papers in the area of building conservation technology and
practice is planned to be included in the Conference. More information about
the conferennce can be found on the Web Page: (http://www.wessex.ac.uk)
PAPERS ARE INVITED for inclusion in a session on Building Conservation and
publication for world distribution in the Conference Proceedings. Abstracts
should be one page and sent by EMAIL as an attached file readable in
Microsoft Word 6.0 (or as text in the message block), together with your
name, address, telephone, fax, and EMAIL address. A deadline for Abstracts
is March 15, 1998.
In his testimony, Roosevelt called the Antiquities Act "one of the most
important conservation tools ever enacted by the U.S. Congress." The Act "has
been the means for this nation to make one of the most valuable investments
any federal government can make -- and that is in the pride and honor and
living memories that our great places carry for the American people."
"NPCA is honored to have the great grandson of one of the greatest
conservation Presidents and the one responsible for the Antiquities Act
testifying on our behalf," said Tom Kiernan, President of the National Parks
and Conservation Association. "Roosevelt, like his great-grandfather, has
established himself as a leader in the conservation arena and NPCA is grateful
for his participation in such a critical issue as the Antiquities Act."
The Antiquities Act gives the President the authority to withdraw federal
lands from harmful actions that threaten the historic and scientific resources
of an area by proclaiming sites "national monuments." The Act has been used
by 13 Democratic and Republican Presidents to protect exceptional federal
lands from harm and to create 105 monuments. "With the exception of the
Organic Act of 1916, no law has had more influence over the development of the
modern National Park System and our other public lands than the Antiquities
Act," Roosevelt, IV said.
After signing the bill into law, President Theodore Roosevelt used the act to
declare 19 national monuments -- one of which became Grand Canyon National
Park. The President urged that the Grand Canyon could not be improved "not a
bit. What you can do is to keep it for your children, your children's
children, and for all who come after you."
Close scrutiny of the Antiquities Act began after President Clinton's
designation in September 1996 of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National
Monument in Utah. Representative Jim Hansen (R-UT) introduced H.R.1127, which
passed the House in amended form in October 1997. Hansen's bill and a similar
bill (S.691) introduced by Senator Frank Murkowski (R-AK) would prevent swift
action to protect lands from harm. H.R.1127 requires the President to consult
with governors and state legislatures before a monument may be proclaimed.
Even then the designation would last for only two years unless Congress
approves it. The restriction applies to lands over 50,000 acres.
"Time and time again Presidents have proven their foresight as to which lands
must remain protected for future generations," said Kiernan. "Seldom has
Congress disagreed with such Presidential designations."
Even with the Presidential power given by the Antiquities Act, Congress
retains a full range of powers to complement the Act, including the authority
to determine monument funding, management policy, and even the reversal of a
monument's designation. Congress has rescinded only 5,000 of the 70 million
acres of monuments proclaimed since 1906.
"If Congress disagrees with President Clinton's proclamation (of the Grand
Staircase-Escalante National Monument), then clearly its efforts should be
directed to that proclamation, not the Act," testified Roosevelt, IV. "This
Act has withstood the test of time and served the American people well."
Roosevelt is Managing Director at Lehman Brothers, a New York-based
investment bank. He has been with the firm since 1972 and is a graduate of
Harvard Business School. He remains an active conservationist and is Vice-
Chair of the League of Conservation Voters and Commissioner of the New York
State Recreation and Historic Preservation Commission for the City of New
York.
The National Parks and Conservation Association (NPCA) is America's only
private nonprofit citizen organization dedicated solely to protecting,
preserving, and enhancing the U.S. National Park System. An association of
"Citizens Protecting America's Parks," NPCA was founded in 1919, and today has
nearly 500,000 members.
A library of national park information, including fact sheets, congressional
testimony, position statements, press releases and media alerts, can be found
in NPCA's "Press Room" on the World Wide Web at
Subject: DISASTER PREPAREDNESS/RISK ANALYSIS
Ton Cremers
'
------- Forwarded Message Follows -------
From: owner-whnews@unesco.org
Date: Fri, 13 Feb 1998 12:32:09 +0100
World Heritage News -- WHNEWS 14.16 (13 February 1998)
Sender: owner-whnews@unesco.org
Precedence: bulk
Announcements:
* 26TH AIC ANNUAL MEETING: "DISASTER PREPAREDNESS,
RESPONSE AND RECOVERY"
* FIRST INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON RISK ANALYSIS, VALENCIA,
SPAIN, 6-8 OCTOBER 1998
** 26TH AIC ANNUAL MEETING: "DISASTER PREPAREDNESS, RESPONSE AND RECOVERY"
Date: Mon, 2 Feb 1998 13:56:03 EST
From: SpencerAIC@aol.com
Subject: AIC 26th Annual Meeting June 1998
"Disaster Preparedness, Response and Recovery"
26th AIC Annual Meeting
June 1-7, 1998
Arlington, Virginia
The American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works (AIC)
is devoting its 26th Annual Meeting to the significant topic of Disaster
Preparedness, Response, and Recovery.
The meeting will be held at the Crystal Gateway Marriott Hotel in Arlington,
Virginia, USA, June 1-7, 1998 with an expected attendance of over 1,000
participants. The program will bring together a broad audience of
conservators and museum professionals.
Lynn Nicholas, author of The Rape of Europa, will kick off the program as
this year's Keynote Speaker. The week's program will have two day-long
sessions on Preparedness and Response. An interdisciplinary approach in
these sessions will include presentations from organizations such as the
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), The American Red Cross, NFPA and
the Department of Defense. Topics presented by international experts from
the United Kingdom, Poland, Croatia, St. Croix, Canada, Argentina, and
Ecuador include:
* "ICCROM's Involvement in Risk Preparedness"
* "Cultural Heritage and Disaster Management at Regional, National,
Community and Institutional Levels"
* "The Protection of the Cultural Heritage of Croatia during the War"
* "Emergency Preparedness Planning in the Caribbean"
* "The Retrieval of Kuwait's National Museum Collections from Iraq: An
Assessment of the Operation and Lessons Learned"
* "La Experiencia de Quito: Response and Recovery after the 1987
Earthquake"
and more!
Other meeting offerings include:
* Workshops and poster sessions, including table-top demonstrations, on
the topics of fire suppression and detection systems, the salvage of cultural
materials from a staged real fire, and how to perform triage on cultural
material at an on-site drill at a museum.
* Conservation suppliers, insurance providers, and companies providing
disaster response services in the Exhibit Hall, June 3-6, to answer
questions about their products and services.
* Tours and workshops held at museums and sites throughout the Washington DC
metro area.
For registration materials, information about becoming an exhibitor or
advertising in meeting materials, or other questions about the Annual
Meeting, please contact the AIC office:
American Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works (AIC)
1717 K Street, NW
Suite 301
Washington, DC 20006
phone: (202) 452-9545
fax: (202) 452-9328
e-mail: InfoAIC@aol.com
Internet: http://palimpsest.stanford.edu/aic/
** FIRST INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON RISK ANALYSIS, VALENCIA, SPAIN
6-8 OCTOBER 1998
Date: Wed, 11 Feb 1998 10:37:24 EST
From: LONGBROOK@aol.com
CALL FOR PAPERS for the BUILDING CONSERVATION SESSION
at the 1st INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON RISK ANALYSIS
in Valencia, Spain, 6-8 October, 1998
Please send Abstracts as soon as possible to:
Paula@wessex.ac.uk
Information about this conference will be sent by EMAIL.
_______________
RISK ANALYSIS 98
Wessex Institute of Technology
Ashurst Lodge, Ashurst
Southampton, SO40 7AA, UK
Tel: 44 (0)-1703-293223
Fax: 44 (0)-1703-292853
***********************************
----------------------------
