ARTISTS
Settlement could prevent return of artworks to Jewish heirs
A 1973 settlement between the United States and Hungary could destroy efforts by the heirs of a Jewish banker to seek the return
AFP
29 Jul, 2010
BUDAPEST, July 29, 2010 (AFP) - A 1973 settlement between the United States and Hungary could destroy efforts by the heirs of a Jewish banker to seek the return of a vast art collection confiscated during World War II.
"According to the 1973 American-Hungarian Claims Agreement, Hungary already paid compensation, and this means the Herzog family lost their right to the artworks," Gyorgy Szucs, deputy director of the Hungarian National Gallery, told AFP Thursday.
Under the Agreement, Budapest paid some 18.9 million dollars (14,4 million euros) as compensation, in exchange for the US and its citizens giving up the right for further damages or the return of stolen property such as artwork, Szucs said.
The family of Hungarian banker Baron Mor Lipot Herzog is suing the Hungarian government, three museums and a university for the return of about 40 pieces of artwork, valued at some 100 million dollars, according to court documents filed in Washington on Tuesday.
"This is the second time the heirs sue Hungary, first they were turned down three years ago by the Hungarian government," Szucs noted.
A spokesman for the Hungarian Fine Arts Museum told AFP: "We have heard of the new lawsuit in the US but so far we have not received any official claim or details about the disputed pictures."
The National Resources Ministry said it had not been contacted either.
"Hungary has still not received any official claims from anyone in the US, therefore we cannot comment on this case," it said in a statement.
The legal filing says Herzog's family, exiled to the United States, was only able to begin looking into the disappeared artwork after "the opening of Hungary to the West in 1989."
The collection includes pieces by masters such as El Greco, Lucas Cranach the Elder, Zurbaran, van Dyck, Velazquez and Monet.
"The National Gallery has paintings by two Hungarians, two by Munkacsy and one by Brochy, which we will return if the court rules in favour of the family," said Szucs.
The heirs, who said they were seeking to resolve "the world's largest unsettled Holocaust art claim," also want the Hungarian government to detail any art originally from the Herzog family collection that may be in its possession.
"According to the 1973 American-Hungarian Claims Agreement, Hungary already paid compensation, and this means the Herzog family lost their right to the artworks," Gyorgy Szucs, deputy director of the Hungarian National Gallery, told AFP Thursday.
Under the Agreement, Budapest paid some 18.9 million dollars (14,4 million euros) as compensation, in exchange for the US and its citizens giving up the right for further damages or the return of stolen property such as artwork, Szucs said.
The family of Hungarian banker Baron Mor Lipot Herzog is suing the Hungarian government, three museums and a university for the return of about 40 pieces of artwork, valued at some 100 million dollars, according to court documents filed in Washington on Tuesday.
"This is the second time the heirs sue Hungary, first they were turned down three years ago by the Hungarian government," Szucs noted.
A spokesman for the Hungarian Fine Arts Museum told AFP: "We have heard of the new lawsuit in the US but so far we have not received any official claim or details about the disputed pictures."
The National Resources Ministry said it had not been contacted either.
"Hungary has still not received any official claims from anyone in the US, therefore we cannot comment on this case," it said in a statement.
The legal filing says Herzog's family, exiled to the United States, was only able to begin looking into the disappeared artwork after "the opening of Hungary to the West in 1989."
The collection includes pieces by masters such as El Greco, Lucas Cranach the Elder, Zurbaran, van Dyck, Velazquez and Monet.
"The National Gallery has paintings by two Hungarians, two by Munkacsy and one by Brochy, which we will return if the court rules in favour of the family," said Szucs.
The heirs, who said they were seeking to resolve "the world's largest unsettled Holocaust art claim," also want the Hungarian government to detail any art originally from the Herzog family collection that may be in its possession.
