(Q107613476)
Statements
The Unresolved Injustices of Nazi-Looted Art: A look at the 2016 HEAR Act (British English)
Simrit Hans
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12 February 2020
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The Holocaust Expropriated Art Recovery Act of 2016 (HEAR) is an act of Congress that aimed to alleviate some of the challenges preventing restitution to allow for claims of looted art to be “resolved in a just and fair manner” by providing a uniform statute of limitations. It provides that a claim for the recovery of art or property lost between January 1, 1933, and December 31, 1945, as a result of Nazi persecution may be commenced no later than six years after “actual discovery” – knowledge – of the identity and location of the work and a possessory interest in the work. (English)
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The painting, Portrait of the Artist’s Wife, was purchased by award-winning documentary filmmaker Robert Lehman in 1964 from the Marlborough Gallery in London. In 2016, Mr. Lehman transferred ownership of the work to his family’s foundation to be sold at auction. It was the auction house, Christie’s, that recognized the painting’s potentially questionable provenance and contacted Israelitische Kultusgemeinde Wien (IKG), which represents the Jewish community of Vienna, about the painting’s history. IKG recognized Eva Zirkl as the painting’s true owner. Ms. Zirkl, who has had other works by Egon Schiele returned to her, is the heir of Karl Mayländer, a Jewish businessman and art collector who was killed during the Holocaust. (English)