Zimmerli returns Grien

January 20, 2011

On January 14, 2011, the Zimmerli Art Museum returned a portrait by Hans Baldung Grien, “Portrait of a Young Man” (1509) (right) to Simon Goodman, grandson of Friedrich and Louise Gutmann, Holocaust victims and previous owners of the painting.

Heirs were looking for the painting since 1946.
In 2009, Goodman found the lost long painting in  a 1983 catalogue raisonné of the artist by the noted German art historian Gert von der Osten.

“The restitution of World War II-era artwork is one of the most important legal and moral issues facing museums today, and we at Rutgers and the Zimmerli took the Goodman family’s claim most seriously,“ says Suzanne Delehanty, Director. “We have devoted almost a year to researching the case.”

The painting is consigned with Christie’s to be auctioned off on Jan. 26 (presale est. $200,000 to $300,000).

For more information about the painting and its provenance, see ArtDaily.