Nazi Art Spoliation

I saw the documentary The Rape of Europa this past week in Concord, NH.  The viewing was a collaboration between the Red River Theatres and the Currier Museum of Art in conjunction with their Secret Life Of Art exhibit.

It is an exhibit which aims to demystify why and how a museum operates. It includes a recently restituted pair of alter paintings from an Austrian Museum to the grandchild of its original owner. The grandchild, 81 year old Tom Selldorff, opened the movie with a moving account of his struggle for restitution of the artwork.

I will not take up a lot of space rehashing the film, suffice it to say that it is well worth seeing. It tells the story of the destruction and looting of Europe's great museums by the Nazis. It cannot be separated from the story of World War II- a powerful story that we all need to be reminded of once in a while.

I was unaware of the extent of the systematic destruction and looting of museums and libraries that the Nazis practiced. I was also unaware that the Allies had created a special unit, The Monuments Men, to mitigate the destruction of European art. They helped in the planning of bomb drops to ensure that museums and cultural artifacts were avoided. They were instrumental in coming in after major battles to prevent looting.

It begs the question of what is Culture and what is its importance. In view of the Nazis desire to exterminate certain cultures it became clear that Culture is the shared history of a group told through their collection of art, books, architecture, religion and language. By removing those things physically the Nazis tried to remove their identities.

It was made evident how important Culture is by people's willingness to put their lives on the line for it. There were powerful still shots of the curators and residents packing treasures of the former Tsars of Russia to be shipped to Siberia before the siege of Leningrad. Later these curators lived in the bombed out museums to safeguard remaining treasures from exposure to the harsh Russian winter. In Occupied Paris a mousy art historian, Rose Valland, was forced to help the Nazis catalogue and move artwork to Germany. By night she recorded where works went to aid in their retrieval after the war. This belies the argument that "Yes, art is important, but...."

I cannot overstate that part of the experience of this film was viewing it collectively with 150 other people. I do not often go to movies and have forgotten the power of being swept into a story and to hear others reactions to the more horrific or brutal scenes. There was an elderly audience member who had intimate experience with the Holocaust. She was obviously hard of hearing and was unaware of how loudly she conversed with her friend. She confirmed that many of the events in the film were true and happened to her family. It was humanizing by being both funny and emphasizing our safety to express ourselves, out loud in our community.

This was an example of how the collaboration of two institutions- Red River and The Currier strengthened their abilities to tell a story by reaching out to other mediums. If you have a chance- see both the movie and the exhibit. And by all means, don't miss their next collaboration!

Art Heist!

I went to a presentation at the Currier Museum of Art on the theft at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum of Boston.This presentation was in conjunction with the Currier's current exhibit "The Secret Life of Art: Mysteries of the Museum Revealed." It was a fascinating look inside the mysterious and seemingly glamorous world of art theft and clearly of interest to others as the auditorium was packed with at least 300 people.
The largest art theft in history took place on March 18, 1990 and is still actively pursued by the FBI & security from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. Anthony Amore, chief of security at the Gardner Museum, and special agent Geoffrey Kelly gave us an inside look.


The first part of the presentation was a little slow as Mr.Amore presented all the facts of the theft complete with images of the crime scene. It was heart breaking to hear him describe the destruction of such valuable pieces- the thieves sliced the canvases out of the frames. My assumption had always been that thieves do this to roll the works up for easy transport, but he said the lack of paint chips pointed to them being carried out flat. Paintings this old, with many rounds of restoration and relined with layers of linen, have stiffened with age. Shock number one!

Mr Amore also referred to the thieves throughout the presentation as common thugs and miscreants. At first it sounded like anger or indignation at the act but he continued on to counter the common belief that art heists are ordered by wealthy people who want to possess singular pieces. He said their have been no known instances of this from solved cases. Art thieves generally are common criminals who have stars in their eyes caused by estimated values of artwork. They often hope to ransom the works back to the museums they were stolen from.

Another misconception is that all art in museums is insured. This seems unbelievable but then I think to my own experience with helping to guide people on art insurance. It isn't always the best use of your money. If a piece is truly one of a kind, no amount of insurance money can replace it. And in the case of the Gardner Museum it is stipulated that the collection remain intact or dissolved with all proceeds going to Harvard. Harvard has tactfully not tried to rub salt into this particular wound by demanding the museum be dissolved. The Gardner holds out hope that the art will be returned and the collection restored to its original and intended state.

By the end of the lecture it became clear that Anthony Amore and Geoffrey Kelly are a dog and pony show to help keep the memory and facts about the heist alive. It is part of the Gardner's plan to retrieve the art. It is a very noble dog and pony show though, one I was interested in hearing. I am interested enough to be eagerly anticipating a book about art theft by Anthony Amore due out this spring!

Be sure to partake of all the interesting programming that the Currier has scheduled around the "The Secret Life of Art: Mysteries of the Museum Revealed."