Thought this would be of interest to the list:
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Court Rules on Museum Art's Return
By JESSE J. HOLLAND Associated Press Writer
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) -- New York's highest court
ruled
Tuesday that the Museum of Modern Art can return
two
paintings to Austria despite allegations that they
had been stolen
by the Nazis from their Jewish owners.
In a 6-1 ruling, the Court of Appeals threw out a
grand jury
subpoena ordering the museum not to send
Expressionist artist
Egon Schiele's ``Dead City III'' and ``Portrait of
Wally'' back to
the Leopold Foundation in Vienna.
The subpoena, obtained by Manhattan's district
attorney, had
drawn protests that it could have a chilling
effect on the
international lending of art works between
museums.
The two paintings were among more than 100 loaned
to MOMA
by the Leopold Foundation.
Three days after MOMA's exhibit ended in 1998,
Henry Bondi
of Princeton, N.J., Kathleen Rief of Vancouver,
British
Columbia, and Rita Rief of New York City filed
claims saying
the paintings had been taken from their relatives
when Germany
annexed Austria in 1938.
Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau then
subpoenaed the two works, requiring that they be
kept in the
United States while his office investigated the
claims.
MOMA argued that it was contractually obligated to
return the
paintings. The museum also argued that state law
bars any
interference -- by anyone for any reason -- with
art loaned to
New York institutions by foreign entities.
Prosecutors maintained that the law historically
applied only to
civil proceedings, not criminal inquiries.
However, the appeals court ruled Tuesday that the
state law
makes no exception for criminal investigations.
MOMA officials -- while supporting efforts to
recover
misappropriated art -- welcomed the ruling, saying
that if they
had surrendered the paintings it would have
discouraged other
foreign institutions from lending works of art to
museums in the
United States.
``This is a victory for all the people and museums
of our state
because it means that New York will continue to be
the cultural
center of our world,'' MOMA said in a statement.
The Leopold's board of directors had called the
subpoena ``a
heavy blow against international art exchange and
international
lending.''
AP-NY-09-21-99 1637EDT
Copyright © Associated Press. All rights reserved.
This material may
not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or
redistributed.
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usual disclaimers
Barry G. Szczesny, Esq.
Government Affairs Counsel and
Assistant Director
Government and Public Affairs
American Association of Museums
1575 Eye Street, NW
Suite 400
Washington, DC 20005
202/289-9125 Phone
202/289-6578 Fax
[log in to unmask] E-mail
http://www.aam-us.org Website
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