Santa Barbara Museum of Art Sued over Nazi-Looted Drawing
Heirs of Jewish Cabaret Singer Killed in Concentration Camp Demand Return of Valuable Piece
The heirs of a Jewish cabaret singer and art collector killed during World War II have sued the Santa Barbara Museum of Art over possession of a prized drawing they say was robbed from their late relative by Hitler’s Third Reich.
“The Nazi regime stole the artwork from [Fritz] Grünbaum while he was in the Dachau Concentration Camp, where the Nazis tortured him and compelled him to sign an unlawful power of attorney giving his wife authority to convey his property, before murdering him,” the lawsuit states. Grünbaum’s wife, Elisabeth, was then forced to liquidate her husband’s assets before she herself was imprisoned and killed.
The heirs ― Timothy Reif, a judge on the United States Court of International Trade, and David Frankel, a financial services expert ― are seeking to reclaim the 1915 pencil on paper drawing “Portrait of the Artist’s Wife” by Egon Schiele. Records show the Nazis obtained it in 1939, and while its whereabouts were unknown for many years after that, it resurfaced at a New York gallery in 1956 and remained there until 1966. The Santa Barbara Museum of Art’s website states the piece was a gift from one of its founding members, Wright S. Ludington.
