Manhattan, NY – The Museum of Modern Art and the Guggenheim Foundation filed suit in U.S. District Court in Manhattan to declare them the rightful owners of two Picasso paintings that a Jewish scholar claims were the rightful property of a relative persecuted in Nazi Germany.
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The two institutions said they took the step to fend off an expected lawsuit from Julius H. Schoeps, a German who has been waging a legal fight to recover artwork and property once owned by his great uncle.
Both paintings were originally owned by Paul von Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, an aristocratic German banker. At the time of his death, Mendelssohn-Bartholdy had been engaged in a series of maneuvers that Schoeps said were intended to protect his estate and an incredible art collection.
The family sold the two paintings, now owned by the museums.
Schoeps argued that his great uncle only parted with the paintings because he expected his estate to be plundered by the Nazis.
The museums said in a joint statement they are confident the paintings were not obtained under Nazi duress.
