Art Institute ordered to return drawing to heirs of Jewish man killed by Nazis

The Art Institute of Chicago must return a 1916 drawing by Egon Schiele to the heirs of an entertainer and art collector, according to a court ruling on Wednesday. New York Supreme Court Judge Althea Drysdale determined that the “Russian War Prisoner” watercolor had been stolen by Nazis from Jewish cabaret star Fritz Grünbaum before the start of World War II. Grünbaum was later murdered at the Dachau Concentration Camp in 1941.

Those claims are disputed by the Art Institute, which purchased the piece in 1966. The museum contends the work was inherited by Grünbaum’s sister-in-law, Mathilde Lukacs, who sold it in 1956 to Swiss art dealer Eberhard Kornfeld. But the judge supported investigators’ claims that Kornfeld participated in laundering artwork stolen by Nazis and doctoring documents, including correspondence with Lukacs, to hide the scheme.



She also ruled that the Art Institute did not meet its standards for verifying the work’s provenance. “An examination of the research compiled by the parties over the past several decades demonstrates that it is highly improbable that Mathilde Lukacs ever obtained proper title of ‘Russian War Prisoner’ and subsequently sold the work to Kornfeld,” the judge stated. The Art Institute has maintained that there is direct evidence of Lukacs’ lawful sale to Kornfeld.

“We are disappointed with the ruling,” a spokesperson from the Art Institute told the Sun-Times. “We are reviewing the court’s decision and will look at all available options for appeal.” For years, Grünbaum’s heirs have sought the return of “Russian War Prisoner” and other pieces of his art collection from museums.

They say the entertainer was forced to relinquish the artwork to Nazi authorities in 1938 when he was sent to the Dachau concentration camp. Contributing: Emmanuel Camarillo.