Curt Valentin Explained

Curt Valentin (5 October 1902, Hamburg, Germany – 19 August 1954, Forte dei Marmi, Italy) was a German-Jewish art dealer known for handling modern art, particularly sculpture, and works classified as "degenerate", seized from public museums or looted from private collectors by the Nazi regime in Germany.

After 1927 Curt Valentin worked for Alfred Flechtheim in Berlin.[1] In 1934, he worked at Karl Buchholz Gallery, Hamburg from 1934 to 1936 until anti-Semitic National Socialist laws preventing Jews from practicing their professions in Germany.

Dismissed from his job in Germany in late 1936 Valentin emigrated to America and opened the Buchholz Gallery in September 1937 in New York City.[2] A key figure in the dispersal of so-called “degenerate” art, he had permission to sell German art in America, from the Nazi authorities to help fund Hitler's war efforts. This resulted from Buchholz's gallery being one of four dealers—together with Ferdinand Möller (Berlin), Hildebrand Gurlitt (Hamburg), and Bernhard A. Böhmer (Güstrow)—who worked closely with Hitler’s Propaganda Ministry with the disposal of such art for profit.[3] [4] [5]

On June 30, 1939, Curt Valentin bid for art looted by the Nazis that was being auctioned at the Galerie Fischer in Lucerne on behalf of Alfred H. Barr Jr. who provided money donated to the Museum of Modern Art.[6] In 1951 the gallery was renamed the Curt Valentin Gallery. His gallery operated from 1951, until a year after his death in 1954, and handled works by many notable artists including Alexander Calder, Henry Moore, Marino Marini, Irving Kriesberg, and Jacques Lipchitz.[7]

Art restitution cases

Numerous art restitution cases involve artworks which passed through Curt Valentin after being seized by the Nazis from museums or from private art collectors who were persecuted by the Nazis because of their Jewish heritage.[8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] Provenance research projects are ongoing around the world to clarify the origins of artworks sold by Valentin.[15]

See also

External links

"Curt Valentin", MOMA

Notes and References

  1. http://research.frick.org/directoryweb/browserecord.php?-action=browse&-recid=6175 Galerie Flechtheim
  2. http://research.frick.org/directoryweb/browserecord.php?-action=browse&-recid=6067 Curt Valentin Gallery (New York, N.Y.)
  3. Web site: Nazi Looted Art, Fernand Leger and the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. Blogger. 2 November 2008. 12 October 2017.
  4. Web site: Mr. Curt Valentin's Nazi-Looted Art. Fred Abrams. 9 November 2008. 12 October 2017.
  5. Web site: Cohan. William D.. 2011-11-17. MoMA’s Problematic Provenances. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20191208045636/https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/momas-problematic-provenances-477/. 2019-12-08. 2022-01-22. ARTnews.com. en-US. By November 1936, Valentin had made his deal with the Nazis that would allow him to emigrate to New York and to sell “degenerate art” to help fund the war effort..
  6. News: 2012-11-12. Nazi Art Loot Found Its Way to New York's Modern Museum - NYTimes.com. The New York Times. 2021-03-22. https://web.archive.org/web/20121112093842/https://www.nytimes.com/1994/10/09/opinion/l-nazi-art-loot-found-its-way-to-new-york-s-modern-museum-483346.html. 2012-11-12.
  7. Web site: Curt Valentin Papers in The Museum of Modern Art Archives. MOMA Publishing. 2006. 12 October 2017.
  8. Web site: Dresden buys back Kirchner painting seized by Nazis as ‘degenerate art’ . 2023-08-17 . www.lootedart.com.
  9. Web site: Statement Regarding Claim for Piet Mondrian Painting Schilderij No. 1 . 2023-08-17 . www.lootedart.com.
  10. Web site: Cornelius Gurlitt Attorney References "Only Eight Works" in Relation to Nazi Persecution, Likely More of an Update than Assertion of Ownership . 2023-08-17 . lootedart.com.
  11. Web site: Flechtheim Heirs Suspend Limbach Commission Proceedings Over Juan Gris Painting in Düsseldorf . 2023-08-17 . www.lootedart.com.
  12. Web site: How a French masterpiece stolen by Nazis came to St. Louis . 2023-08-17 . www.lootedart.com.
  13. Web site: George Grosz's Heirs Sue MOMA on Paintings . 2023-08-17 . www.lootedart.com.
  14. Web site: Minneapolis Institute of Arts sends Nazi 'loot' home to Paris . 2023-08-17 . www.lootedart.com.
  15. Web site: Provenance Research: Provenance Project at the Henie Onstad Kunstsenter (HOK), Høvikodden . 2023-08-17 . www.lootedart.com.

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