Status Report: Hidden Art Treasures in Bern

You may know the story of Cornelius Gurlitt, reclusive art collector, from the Nazi era in Germany.  The 1,500 works that were found decades ago in his small, Munich apartment, included a Monet hidden in a suitcase, and works by Expressionist artist Kirchner, worth millions.  Many of the valuable works may have been looted or acquired by forced sales by Jewish owners.

Gurlitt lived for his art.  Much of the art was acquired by his father Hildebrand, who was at one time the head of a large museum in Germany.  He also worked for Hitler during the war, acquiring paintings that Hitler consider degrading, removing them from the museum and in many cases buying the paintings himself for next to nothing.  Cornelius inherited this collection, catalogued all of it, and kept it hidden away for decades.

Over the years, much of the collection has been returned to its rightful owners, but a great deal is still part of a "collections,"  and is being displayed at a Bern museum.  Apparently Cornelius knew that keeping the art was wrong, but he did it anyway, hiding it in the apartment  for years.  When Cornelius died, he willed the artwork to a museum in Switzerland, but  was challenged in court by one of his relatives.  The court ruled that the art would go to the museum, except for any works that they felt had been acquired by looting.  I have simplified the story of Hildebrand and Cornelius Gurlitt in the interest of brevity, as

it is complicated.  Hopefully this exhibit to come to America someday, so that we may view this exhibit, too.