First Goudstikker, now Katz

A Dutch commission is studying a claim by the children of a wartime art dealer for the return of 227 paintings acquired for Adolf Hitler's collection and

now in the largest museums in the Netherlands, officials said Wednesday.

The decision on whether to relinquish the artwork to the family of Nathan Katz will hinge on the Restitution Committee's determination whether the Jewish art dealer was forced to sell the works or whether he voluntarily sold them to the Germans, which was illegal during World War II.
In terms of numbers, it is the largest claim ever put forward for a single collection, said Evert Rodrigo, head of the collections department of the Dutch Art Collections Institute, which manages state-owned artwork. No value has been put on the collection.

Posted by David on October 1, 2007 5:51 PM