Nearly 70 years after the end of World War II, the art world still is reeling from the effects of Nazi looting of artworks and other cultural property.From 1933 through the end of World War II in 1945, the Nazi regime systematically pillaged cultural property and artworks throughout continental Europe. Some of their loot was sold to fund Nazi-related activities, some became the property of senior party officials, and some pieces were destroyed.
After the war, tens of thousands of confiscated objects were recovered by Allied Forces — an effort documented in the recent George Clooney film The Monuments Men.
To this day, museums and individual collectors still struggle to verify the proper ownership of works of art that changed hands during these years.
Against this backdrop, Jacksonville’s Cummer Museum of Art & Gardens has an exciting announcement, the resolution of a claim regarding a Nazi-era looting of a painting purchased by the museum back in 1962.
Museum Director Hope McMath and Chief Curator Holly Keris joined Melissa Ross with more on the piece, painted by 17th century Dutch master Jacques de Claeuw.
You can follow Melissa Ross on Twitter @MelissainJax.
