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Spotlight: The Max Stern Art Restitution Project

September 15, 2016

By Ryan Igel

The Max Stern Art Restitution Project (the “Project”),  established in 2002, is tasked with locating the paintings Jewish art dealer Max Stern (April 18, 1904 – May 30, 1987) was forced to sell during the Second World War, and return them to his heirs. The Project was established at the direction of the heirs of the Max Stern Estate. As Stern did not have children, his heirs consist of Concordia University in Montreal, McGill University also in Montreal, and Hebrew University in Jerusalem. The Project also serves an important educational and moral function, and seeks to educate both the general public and those in the art industry about art theft and the importance of provenance research in ensuring that artworks are returned to their rightful owners.  

The Project is housed at the Concordia University in Montreal, Quebec. The location of Montreal is significant, as this is where Max Stern settled once in Canada, and where he opened his Canadian gallery, the Dominion Gallery. Dr. Clarence Epstein, a Courtauld-trained art historian with experience in managing artists’ estates, was chosen by the heirs of Max Stern to be the Director of the project, and still holds this role. The project began with seed funding from the heirs of Max Stern, but is now largely self-funded through the sale of selected paintings.

The need for the Project stemmed from the cultural program aimed at confiscating and forcing the sale of art initiated by the Nazi Regime during the Second World War. The unprecedented art theft and destruction that occurred in Europe between 1933 and 1945 was a major part of the Nazi’s systematic efforts to establish a “new world order”. Works that were considered to be “degenerate” because they did not perpetuate Nazi ideals were confiscated from museums, galleries, and even from the homes of individuals. Moreover, because the Nazis believed that certain individuals, particularly those of the Jewish faith, should not participate in the creation and perpetuation of German culture, many Jewish art dealers were forced to sell or forfeit their artworks well below market prices. Many of these confiscated artworks were destroyed or purchased by German art dealers and private collectors while a number of them were sold internationally to finance the Nazi war effort.

Max Stern was one such person. Stern survived the war in Canada, but in the early years of World War Two, he lived in Düsseldorf, Germany, where he owned an art gallery and auction house that was established by his father, Julius Stern. On August 29, 1935, Max Stern received a letter from the Reich Chamber of Fine Arts – an organization tasked with ensuring that artistic endeavors within the Third Reich reflected Nazi ideals – informing him that he could no longer carry on the business of buying or selling art in Germany. Stern was given a deadline of December 15, 1937 by which to sell the 228 paintings that were in his possession. These paintings were later sold at auction at the Lempertz auction house. The extent of Stern’s involvement in the sale of his paintings is unclear as the Lempertz Auction houses records were destroyed when Cologne was bombed during the Second Word War. However, the fact that the catalogue used by the Lempertz auction house resembled those used by Galerie Stern, suggests that Stern was involved in the sale of his paintings.

After the war, individuals who were either forced to sell their art or whose art was confiscated, sought to have their property returned. Post-War restitution commissions were established by the governments of various countries to hear claims for these works, but the commissions were not always sympathetic to claims asserted by victims of the Nazis. This left a significant number of artworks in the possession of governments, state-owned museums, dealers and private collectors.

Like many, Stern began working on retrieving his paintings. On December 27, 1947, Stern filed a claim with the Central Office for Property Control to have 20 of the paintings he was forced to sell returned to him. Stern also placed advertisements in a German art magazine, Die Weltkunst, to publicize his efforts within the arts community. Through these efforts, Stern was able to recover a small number of his paintings. The Project was created to facilitate the return of the majority of paintings that were not recovered during his lifetime.

Restitution efforts call for different skills and much international cooperation between art historians, attorneys, researchers, political figures and scholars. The contentious nature of claims for restitution, and the lack of a consistent legal framework for dealing with these disputes makes relying solely on legal reasoning and other typical adversarial techniques less effective. Furthermore, the lack of proof of prior ownership makes international cooperation essential, as it is only with this cooperation that evidence of true ownership can be pieced together once again. Instances of international or trans-organizational cooperation are noteworthy.

While the Project employs both full time and part time staff, it also relies on assistance from other players in the restitution field, such as Holocaust Claims Processing Office (“HCPO”), which acts as an advocate for victims of the holocaust and seeks the return of their stolen assets. The HCPO plays a key role in the restitution process, and assists the Project by conducting provenance research, by acting as an advocate on its behalf, and by facilitating communication between the parties.

Dr. Epstein’s team also works with the National Archives in Ottawa, Canada, and lead investigator Willi Korte, a lawyer based in Washington, D.C., who is the co-founder of the Holocaust Art Restitution Project (link www.plunderedart.com). Both the team at Concordia University and the National Archives assist Dr. Epstein in the search for works that belonged to Max Stern. Lead Investigator, Willi Korte, who has worked on recovering each of the paintings recovered so far, assists with determining the provenance of paintings so that records of ownership can be established and later used in the restitution process. This task takes him all over the world.

The Project approaches the repatriation of Stern’s works through both legal and non-legal channels. However, Dr. Epstein emphasizes that the repatriation of most works is not actually achieved through legal avenues. This is because many countries do not consider forced sales to be theft and also because most countries do not have a specific legal mechanism to assist with these types of claims. Instead, moral arguments are used privately in what Dr. Epstein refers to as “a process of reconciliation” between the parties. The Project also presents more practical arguments such as pointing to the fact that a painting with tarnished provenance is not marketable. The success that has been achieved by using diplomacy and moral arguments demonstrate that shame on one hand and praise on the other are better suited to achieving the Project’s goals.

The reconciliation process utilized by the project is illustrated by the repatriation of Wilhelm Von Schadow’s Self Portrait of the Artist. This painting was discovered when a researcher from the National Archives in Ottawa, Canada found it in a catalogue for a 1967 Düsseldorf Museum Kunstplast exhibition. The catalogue for this exhibition listed the paintings location to be the Stadtmuseum. The Project contacted the museum directly, and the parties discussed the idea of returning the painting to the heirs of Max Stern. In the course of these discussions, both moral and legal arguments were presented and the museum ultimately agreed that the painting should be returned to Max Stern’s estate. However, instead of returning the painting physically, the parties agreed that the painting would remain in the Stadtmuseum Düsseldorf on the condition that the painting was acknowledged as being on loan from Stern’s estate. The parties also agreed that while on display, the painting would be used to remind those who visit the gallery of the painting’s history. As part of the educational component of the agreement, the parties agreed that the painting would be involved in two exhibitions: one on the life of Jewish people in Düsseldorf, and one specifically on Max Stern and his art collection. The museum also agreed to take on the role of providing education on provenance research.

Although reconciliation is preferred to the uncertainty and cost of litigation, the Project achieved a major legal breakthrough in the United States in the case of Vineberg v Bissonette. Vineberg v Bissonnette, 529 F.Supp.2d 300 (D.R.I 2007). Vineberg involved a claim by the Max Stern estate for the return of The Girl From Sabine Mountains by Franz-Xaver Winterhalter. At the time, the painting was owned by Maria-Louise Bissonette, the step-daughter of Dr. Karl Wilhelm, who had purchased the painting from the Lempertz Auction House in 1937. In this case, Chief District Judge Mary Lisi recognized that the forced sales of artworks under those circumstances were equivalent to theft, and ordered Bissonnette to return the painting to the Stern estate. Although the establishment of this legal principle is significant, Dr. Epstein cautions that the judgment is limited to the United States and does not assist with the repatriation of works that are in other countries such as Germany, where most looted paintings are still located.

To date, the Max Stern Art Restitution Project has recovered twelve of Max Stern’s paintings and continues to locate and negotiate the repatriation of his remaining collection . Stern’s works have been found in auction houses, a German casino, and in private collections. Some of these recovered works are now on loan to museums and foundations. Some examples being Aimee, a Young Egyptian by Emile Vernet-Lecomte which is on loan to the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts and  Portrait of Jan Van Everdyck by Nicolas Neufchatel which is on permanent loan to the Jakober Foundation. Other paintings, as previously mentioned, have been sold to finance the Project. Through the sponsorship of conferences and other educational events such as The Israel Museum Conference “Justice Matters: Restituting Holocaust-Era Art Artifacts” (2008), the Project has not only contributed significantly to ensuring that efforts to repatriate works of art stolen by the Nazis during the Second World War remain relevant, but has also become an important source of information and guidance for individuals and similar organizations that also seek the return of these precious works.

Sources:

*About the Author: Ryan Igel is a second year student at the University of Ottawa Faculty of Law, with an interest in the intersection of art and law. Ryan is particular interested in the restitution of artworks looted during the Second World War. He can be reached at rigel064@uottawa.ca.

The author would like to thank Dr. Clarence Epstein, Director of the Max Stern Art Restitution Project, for his time during telephone interviews.

Disclaimer: This article is for educational purposes only and is not meant to provide legal advice. Readers should not construe or rely on any comment or statement in this article as legal advice. Instead, readers should seek an attorney with any legal questions.

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