OT: High Court Blocks Return of Art Stolen by Nazis Who Murdered Owner

[Lux]

Law blocks return of looted art. The British Museum has accepted the
drawings were looted. The British Museum would be breaking the law if
it gave back four Old Master drawings that were looted by the Nazis,
London's High Court has ruled. The museum wants to return the works to
a Jewish family that lost them in 1939.

But the court said "moral obligations" could not override the British
Museum Act, which protects the collection.

The case was watched closely because it could have opened the door for
other items, including the Elgin Marbles, being returned by the
institution.

But Vice Chancellor Sir Andrew Morritt, a senior judge in the Chancery
Division of the High Court, said the law would need to be changed for
such returns to be legal.

The Elgin Marbles were taken from Athens by Lord Elgin in 1811
The four drawings, worth an estimated £150,000, were stolen from Czech
lawyer Arthur Feldmann, who was killed by the Nazis.

The British Museum bought them for nine guineas - then worth £9.45,
now about £250 in today's money - in 1946.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/arts/4587291.stm

[PK4real]

"Lux" <luxpe...@aol.com> wrote:
>
I find this utterly disgusting and amoral !
The Queen should weild her influence behind the scenes to make amends for these thefts !!

[Lux]

Yes, the case is interesting not only for its own sake, but also for
showing how far some people are willing to go to hang on to the
Parthenon Marbles wanted back by Greece. I see the BBC now says they
were "taken", not "rescued."

[matthew...@gmail.com]

Lux wrote:

> Yes, the case is interesting not only for its own sake, but also for
> showing how far some people are willing to go to hang on to the
> Parthenon Marbles wanted back by Greece. I see the BBC now says they
> were "taken", not "rescued."

However, the Greek claims for the last 3 years have been for a
permanent loan of the marbles rather than contesting the ownership of
them, so in many ways this court case is not as relevant to that
specific issue as the Attorney General is trying to imply.

[Lux]

Thank you for pointing that out; that is very interesting. It is a
good strategy to go around that and just shame them into getting the
art back to its natural setting, since they have built a fine museum
for it.