NEW YORK, NY.- After a long awaited settlement regarding the "Portrait of Wally", a 1912 oil painting by artist Egon Schiele, the painting will be on view to the public at the Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust from July 29, 2010 through August 18, 2010 before it is placed on display at the Rudolph Leopold Museum in Vienna.
ARTKABINETT collector members have previously viewed many Leopold Museum works (please see AK Files July 7, 2010), and will enjoy this new exhibition as it comes to New York City.
The Museum of Jewish Heritage was chosen to host the painting by the Bondi Jaray estate who wanted "a setting that would memorialize the suffering of so many in the Holocaust and the resilience and resolve of those who escaped and/or survived."
Museum Director Dr. David G. Marwell said, "We honor the memory of victims of the Holocaust every day at this Museum and we remember the millions who, while they may have themselves survived, lost their communities, families, homes, and property. While they can never recover what they have lost, it is important to set some things right when at all possible—no matter how long it takes.
Compensating the heirs of Holocaust victims and survivors represents a small measure of justice, and we commend all parties for their dedication to this cause. We are honored to host Wally for her brief visit at the Museum where she will help our visitors understand an important element of Holocaust Remembrance and make clear that justice – even delayed – is worthy of pursuit."
As part of the settlement, the painting will include a text panel with information about the painting’s long journey, as reprinted here,
"This Painting (“Portrait of Wally” by Egon Schiele) was the personal property of Mr. Lea Bondi Jaray (seen here), a Jewish art dealer in Vienna, who fled in 1939 to London, where she died in 1969. The Painting subsequently became the subject of court proceedings in New York City from 1998 to 2010, after it was loaned in 1997 to the Museum of Modern Art in New York (MoMA) by the Leopold Museum as part of an exhibition of Schieles from the Leopold Museum's collection.
In 1999, the United States Government commenced a civil forfeiture action in New York, alleging that the Painting was stolen from Lea Bondi Jaray during the Nazi era by a Nazi named Friedrich Welz, and was imported into the United States in 1997 by the Leopold Museum in violation of U.S. law.
The Estate of Mr. Lea Bondi Jaray asserted a claim to the Painting in the action, and the U.S. Government agreed that upon forfeiture of the Painting, it would transfer to the Estate all right and title to the Painting.
Based on the evidence presented during the case, the United States District Court in New York concluded in 2009 that the Painting was the personal property of Lea Bondi Jaray and that it was stolen from her in Vienna in the late 1930's by Friedrich Welz, who was a member and collaborator of the Nazi party.
The Court found that the Painting had been seized from Welz by the U.S. Forces in Austria after the War and delivered in 1947 to the Austrian Federal Office for Preservation of Historical Monuments (“Bundesdenkmalamt”) along with paintings Welz had acquired from Dr. Heinrich Rieger, a Jewish art collector who had perished during the Holocaust.
In 1950, the Bundesdenkmalamt delivered artworks to an agent for the Rieger heirs and included the Painting in the delivery. Later that year, the Rieger heirs sold their works to the Austrian National Gallery (the “Belvedere”), and the Painting was included in the delivery of the artworks to the Belvedere. In 1954, the Belvedere traded the Painting to Dr. Rudolf Leopold. In 1994, Dr. Leopold transferred the Painting to the Leopold Museum.
Following the court’s findings on these issues, the case was finally resolved in 2010 by the U.S. Government, the Estate and the Leopold Museum. The Leopold Museum agreed to pay the Estate a substantial sum, and, in return, the Estate agreed to release its claim to the Painting and the Government agreed to dismiss the civil forfeiture action and release the Painting to the Leopold Museum.
The three parties also agreed that the Painting was to be loaned by the Leopold Museum to this museum for this exhibition."
On other occasions the Museum of Jewish Heritage has held ceremonies for stolen paintings or artifacts:
The Seamstress, painted by famed German artist Lesser Ury in 1883, was subjected to a forced sale by the Nazis in 1940, but was returned to the Lowenthal Family in 1999.
The Loewenthals immediately loaned the painting to the Museum of Jewish Heritage to ensure that the public was able to see it and enjoy it.
In February 2001, the Museum hosted the news conference in which "Olevano", painted by Alexander Kanoldt in 1927 (shown left), was returned to the heirs of Holocaust victim Dr. Ismar Littmann.
The painting was displayed at the Museum through April 2001. In April of 2009, the 17th-century Dutch painting Portrait of a Musician Playing a Bagpipe was returned to collector Max Stern’s estate and in November of 2009, a rare 16th century Viennese bible was returned to representatives of the Jewish community of Vienna.
On Wednesday, August 18, at 7 p.m. Museum director Dr. David G. Marwell will moderate Wally’s Journey, a panel discussion featuring J.D. Bindenagel, former U.S. Ambassador and Special Envoy for Holocaust Issues; Marilyn Henry, columnist, The Jerusalem Post; and other special guests.
This program will look at the history of the painting and its owners, the complicated litigation, and the impact the case has had on the art world on the occasion of Portrait of Wally’s last night in New York before returning to its permanent home at the Leopold Museum in Vienna.
In the Museum's core exhibition, personal objects, photographs, and original films illustrate the story of Jewish heritage in the twentieth century.
The Museum's unique collection forms the solid foundation of this important archive, a significant educational resource for students, teachers, and scholars. In addition, the collection provides source materials for permanent and temporary exhibitions, and for traveling exhibitions.
