Zurich gallery reaches agreement with Jewish collector’s heirs over Monet
Zurich Art Society President Philipp Hildebrand said the gallery’s provenance research strategy, presented in 2023, was being implemented in earnest.
Keystone / Michael Buholzer
The fine arts museum Kunsthaus Zürich will sell a painting by Claude Monet after reaching an agreement with the heirs of a Jewish collector who was forced to sell the work when he fled the Nazi regime.
This content was published on
2 minutes
Keystone-SDA
Do you want to read our weekly top stories? Subscribe here.
Jewish industrialist and art collector Carl Sachs fled to Switzerland with his wife in 1939 and sold Monet’s Man with a Parasol to the Swiss gallery a few weeks later. This was a predicament caused by persecution and “a short-notice sale was necessary to secure the couple’s subsistence”, according to a report based on research into the painting’s provenance.
Due to these facts and the historic circumstance, the Zurich Art Society, which is sponsor and owner of the Kunsthaus Zürich collection, sought a dialogue with the family of Carl Sachs, who died in 1943. A “fair and equitable solution” was found on June 5, according to a press release on Wednesday.
The Kunsthaus will now sell the painting, which dates to around 1865/1867. According to the agreement, the gallery will also receive a share of the proceeds, which will go towards the collection fund, in accordance with the International Council of Museum’s Code of Ethics.
Zurich Art Society President Philipp Hildebrand regretted that “the marvellous painting” will probably leave the Kunsthaus after the sale, he is quoted as saying in the release. However, he said this step demonstrated that the gallery’s provenance research strategy, presented in 2023, was being implemented in earnest, and that the Kunsthaus dealt transparently with works where there were indications of Nazi-related persecution.
Adapted from German by DeepL/kp
This news story has been written and carefully fact-checked by an external editorial team. At SWI swissinfo.ch we select the most relevant news for an international audience and use automatic translation tools such as DeepL to translate it into English. Providing you with automatically translated news gives us the time to write more in-depth articles.
If you want to know more about how we work, have a look here, and if you have feedback on this news story please write to english@swissinfo.ch.
External Content
Your subscription could not be saved. Please try again.
Almost finished… We need to confirm your email address. To complete the subscription process, please click the link in the email we just sent you.
Popular Stories
More
Foreign affairs
Magnitsky case: How Switzerland failed to investigate Russian millions
What do you think Switzerland’s Alain Berset can bring to the Council of Europe?
The former interior minister is to become the first Swiss Secretary General of the Council of Europe – which issues should his five-year term focus on?
Swiss State Secretary warns against cutting development aid
This content was published on
The head of the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs criticised the plan to cut CHF500 million a year from development aid and use it for the army.
Swiss politician pledges not to abandon valleys after devastating storms
This content was published on
Carmelia Maissen said that resettlement could occur in specific cases. But "we certainly will not abandon entire valleys".
Switzerland’s financial watchdog investigates group of German state deniers
This content was published on
An investigation by Swiss public television, SRF, has warned of the scams perpetrated by the "Königreich Deutschland" (Kingdom of Germany) in Switzerland.
Euro 2024: England knock Switzerland out in penalty shootout to reach semi-finals
This content was published on
The Swiss were knocked out in the quarter-finals of the European Championship after a penalty shootout, losing 5-3 to England in Düsseldorf.
Swiss police identify storm victim found in canton Ticino
This content was published on
The latest casualty is a 67-year-old Swiss citizen, bringing the confirmed death toll from last weekend's severe storms in Switzerland to six.
Europe’s Ariane-6 rocket set to launch into space with Swiss collaboration
This content was published on
Switzerland is one of the 13 countries participating in the Ariane-6 programme, contributing 2.4% of the total project cost.
Severe storms: over 140 unable to go home in southern Switzerland
This content was published on
In southern Switzerland some buildings have become uninhabitable following the storms. A total of 141 residents are unable to return to their homes.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.