Robert Graetz (art collector) explained

Robert Graetz (October 5, 1878 – December 31, 1945), was a German Jewish textile industrialist and art collector in Berlin who was deported by the Nazis and died at Auschwitz.[1] [2]

Early life and family

Born in Berlin on October 5, 1878 into a German Jewish family, Graetz's brother, Hugo, was an art dealer.

Graetz married Bluma Shifra (April 28, 1934-April 18.1940)[3] and had a daughter, Hilda Graetz (Ruschkewitz)[4]

Entrepreneur

Graetz's business, Firma für Damenmäntel Glass & Graetz, specialised in women’s coats and suits.[5] [6]

Art collection

Graetz built a collection of around 200 works by artists including Otto Dix, Emil Nolde, Karl Schmidt-Rottluff and Käthe Kollwitz.[7]

Death at Auschwitz

He remained in Berlin after his two children fled. His company, villa, and art collection were confiscated and he was deported to a Nazi concentration camp in 1942. He died at Auschwitz.

Claims for restitution

Most of the artworks from Graetz's collection have not been recovered and are listed on the German Lost Art Foundation website.[8] [9] In 2011 the German Advisory Commission considered a claim for two paintings by Karl Schmidt-Rottluff at Berlin’s Neue Nationalgalerie.[10] 2019, the German Lost Art Foundation offered funding to help research the missing works. In 2021 the German Advisory Commission rejected a claim for a painting by Lovis Corith.[11] [12] In 2023, Christie's brokered a settlement for Max Pechstein's Still Life With a Cup, which Graetz's daughter Hilda sold as a refugee in South Africa. Pechstein's granddaughter provided sales records to help identify the painting[5] In December 2023, the family filed a claim against the Hamburger Kunsthalle for the restitution of Paula Modersohn-Becker: Girl's Head which the widow of Nazi art dealer Konrad Doebbeke had donated to the museum.[13]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Graetz, Robert Proveana . 2023-11-04 . www.proveana.de.
  2. Web site: Nazi Loot Panel Weighs Artwork Claim by Auschwitz Victim's Heir . 2023-11-13 . www.lootedart.com.
  3. Web site: Graetz, Bluma Shifra Proveana . 2023-11-04 . www.proveana.de.
  4. Web site: Ruschkewitz, Hilde Proveana . 2023-11-04 . www.proveana.de.
  5. Web site: 2023-11-03 . Christie's to auction Pechstein painting after settlement reached with heir . 2023-11-04 . The Art Newspaper - International art news and events.
  6. Web site: Firma für Damenmäntel Glass & Graetz Proveana . 2023-11-04 . www.proveana.de.
  7. Book: Enderlein, Angelika . Der Berliner Kunsthandel in der Weimarer Republik und im NS-Staat: Zum Schicksal der Sammlung Graetz . Akademie Verlag . 2014 . 9783050085890 . 158–219 . de . Die rund 200 Kunstwerke umfassende Sammlung, die Robert Graetz in mehr als einem Jahrzehnt mit viel Sorgfalt und finanziellem Aufwand zusammengetragen hatte, entging wie zahlreiche jüdische Privatsammlungen während der nationalsozialistischen Herrschaft nicht der Zerstörung: Sie wurde durch Fortgaben, Verkäufe und Versteigerung zerstreut.
  8. Web site: Bildnis Robert Graetz Lost Art-Datenbank . 2023-11-04 . www.lostart.de.
  9. Web site: Graetz, Hugo und Robert (540638) Suche Lost Art-Datenbank . 2023-11-04 . www.lostart.de.
  10. News: 2011-11-18 . Berlin Will Return Paintings to Auschwitz Victim's Heir . en . Bloomberg.com . 2023-11-04.
  11. Web site: Recommendation of the Advisory Commission in the case of the Heirs of Robert Graetz v. Stiftung Stadtmuseum Berlin . beratende-kommission.de.
  12. Web site: 2021-07-23 . German Nazi loot panel rejects heirs' claim for Lovis Corinth portrait, keeping it in Berlin's Stadtmuseum . 2023-11-04 . The Art Newspaper - International art news and events . A claim by the heirs of Robert Graetz, a Jewish textiles entrepreneur who died in the Holocaust, for a painting by Lovis Corinth in the collection of Berlin’s Stadtmuseum has been rejected by Germany’s Advisory Commission for Nazi-looted art. The commission said there was too little evidence that Graetz lost the work due to persecution and that there was a risk that a previous owner might have a stronger claim. The 1907 portrait depicts Alfred Kerr, a prominent Jewish journalist and theatre critic and the father of Judith Kerr, the author of much-loved children’s books..
  13. Web site: 2024-01-27 . Nazi looted art in the Hamburg Kunsthalle? Why a Jewish family struggles in vain for a picture - ARD Das Erste . 2024-01-27 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240127034159/https://www-daserste-de.translate.goog/information/wissen-kultur/ttt/nazi-raubkunst-100.html?_x_tr_sl=de&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=sc . 2024-01-27 .

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