Kurt Grawi Explained

Kurt Grawi (born February 1, 1887, in Hannover; d. 1945 in Santiago, Chile)[1] was a German Jewish businessman and art collector who was persecuted by the Nazis.

Early life

Grawi was born in 1887, the child of Josef Grawi (b. October 18, 1851)[2] and Berta Grawi. He had three sisters: Margarete Then-Bergh; Dr. Erna Gertrud Grawi and Irma Neumann.

He married Else Emilie Katherina Grawi (b. September 5, 1894 in Germany; d. September 5, 1944 in Santiago, Chile).[3]

Art collector

In 1928, Grawi purchased The Foxes by Franz Marc.[4]

Nazi persecution

After the Nazis came to power in Germany in 1933, Grawi was persecuted because he was Jewish. His business was Aryanized, that is, transferred in accordance with anti-semitic Nazi laws to non-Jewish owners, in 1935.[5] In 1938, on Kristallnacht Grawi was arrested and imprisoned at the Sachsenhausen concentration camp. He fled to Chile in 1939.[6]

Restitution claim for The Foxes

In 2017, Grawi's family demanded the restitution of Marc's painting The Foxes (1913) from Düsseldorf's Kunstpalast.[7] [8] After Grawi's arrest on Kristallnacht and detention in the Sachsenhausen concentration camp in 1938, he had fled Germany for Chile in 1939. The painting passed through Galerie Nierendorf, and William and Charlotte Dieterle, according to the German Lost Art Foundation.[9] Sold in New York to fund Grawi's escape from Nazi Germany, the sale was considered to have been made under duress.[10] In 2021, the German Advisory Commission recommended that the city of Düsseldorf restitute the painting to Grawi's heirs[11] [12] and the Düsseldorf City Council voted in a closed session to restitute the painting.[13]

In January 2022, after hesitations and delays[14] that attracted criticism, Düsseldorf restituted Marc's The Foxes ("Die Füchse" ) to the Grawi heirs.[15]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Kurt Grawi. 2022-01-23. geni_family_tree. 19 February 1887 . en-US.
  2. Web site: Josef Grawi. 2022-01-23. geni_family_tree. 18 October 1851 . en-US.
  3. Web site: Else Emilie Katherina Grawi. 2022-01-23. geni_family_tree. 5 September 1894 . en-US.
  4. Web site: 2017-12-19. Düsseldorf faces Nazi-era claim for Franz Marc's foxes. 2022-01-23. The Art Newspaper - International art news and events.
  5. Web site: Packard. Cassie. 2021-05-18. Restitution of Franz Marc Painting Sets New Precedent for Art Sold Under Nazi Duress. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20210519020418/https://hyperallergic.com/645741/restitution-of-franz-marc-painting-sets-new-precedent-for-art-sold-under-nazi-duress/. 2021-05-19. 2022-01-23. Hyperallergic. en-US.
  6. Web site: German Lost Art Foundation - Project finder - Provenance Research on Franz Marc's "Foxes" of 1913. 2022-01-23. www.kulturgutverluste.de. Kurt Grawi’s arrest and imprisonment in Sachsenhausen concentration camp in 1938 meant that he subsequently had to flee Germany with his wife and stepchildren. In 1939, Grawi’s wife, who was not Jewish, sold the Berlin properties that had been signed over to her and organized the family’s emigration to Chile that same year..
  7. Web site: 2017-12-19. Düsseldorf faces Nazi-era claim for Franz Marc's foxes. 2022-01-23. The Art Newspaper - International art news and events.
  8. Web site: Düsseldorf steht vor heikler Raubkunst-Frage Monopol. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20180720180448/https://www.monopol-magazin.de/der-weg-der-fuechse-duesseldorf-steht-vor-heikler-raubkunst-frage. 2018-07-20. 2022-01-23. www.monopol-magazin.de. de.
  9. Web site: German Lost Art Foundation - Project finder - Provenance Research on Franz Marc's "Foxes" of 1913. 2022-01-23. www.kulturgutverluste.de. Kurt Grawi’s arrest and imprisonment in Sachsenhausen concentration camp in 1938 meant that he subsequently had to flee Germany with his wife and stepchildren. In 1939, Grawi’s wife, who was not Jewish, sold the Berlin properties that had been signed over to her and organized the family’s emigration to Chile that same year..
  10. Web site: Packard. Cassie. 2021-05-18. Restitution of Franz Marc Painting Sets New Precedent for Art Sold Under Nazi Duress. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20210519020418/https://hyperallergic.com/645741/restitution-of-franz-marc-painting-sets-new-precedent-for-art-sold-under-nazi-duress/. 2021-05-19. 2022-01-23. Hyperallergic. en-US. The long-awaited ruling has significant implications: because the painting was sold in New York to fund Grawi’s flight from Nazi Germany, the decision to restitute the work may set a precedent for future claims regarding cultural objects sold under duress beyond Europe’s borders.
  11. Web site: 2021-03-26. German Nazi-looted art panel recommends return of Franz Marc's Foxes to heirs of Jewish banker. 2022-01-23. The Art Newspaper - International art news and events.
  12. Web site: Selvin. Claire. 2021-04-14. Experts Recommend That German City Return Nazi-Looted Franz Marc Painting. 2022-01-23. ARTnews.com. en-US.
  13. Web site: Packard. Cassie. 2021-05-18. Restitution of Franz Marc Painting Sets New Precedent for Art Sold Under Nazi Duress. live. https://web.archive.org/web/20210519020418/https://hyperallergic.com/645741/restitution-of-franz-marc-painting-sets-new-precedent-for-art-sold-under-nazi-duress/. 2021-05-19. 2022-01-23. Hyperallergic. en-US.
  14. Web site: Greenberger. Alex. 2021-07-09. German City's Restitution of Franz Marc Painting Comes to a Standstill. 2022-01-23. ARTnews.com. en-US.
  15. Web site: Stadt Düsseldorf gibt 14-Mio-Gemälde zurück an Erben. 2022-01-23. www.lootedart.com.

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