NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The City of Cologne, Germany, last night, voluntarily agreed to return another six valuable drawings that belonged to Alfred Flechtheim. This is the second time this year they have agreed to restitute artwork to the heirs of Alfred Flechtheim. In doing so, they recognized Flechtheim as a victim of Nazi persecution on the basis of the Washington Accords.
Alfred Flechtheim was an exceptional art collector in Germany. When the Nazis seized power, he was an immediate target of persecution. Hundreds of his paintings went missing after a Nazi took over his business. He fled to England, where he died in 1937. The Nazis despised his taste for modern art, and continued to ridicule him. Following his exile and death, his entire collection, consisting of hundreds of masterpieces, disappeared or was sold illegally. Over the last few years his heirs have been trying to reconstruct his collection to honor his memory. Flechtheim’s paintings are now scattered around the world.
One of the heirs, Dr. Michael Hulton, from California is seeking to establish a charitable trust in the name of Alfred Flechtheim. “He would have been a famous man in the Berlin art world, had it not been for the Nazis,” he said. He would like to see his name re-established and his memory preserved.
“There are dozens of famous paintings and artifacts still at large, in many museums,” said Mel Urbach and Markus Stoetzel, the lawyers representing the heirs. They are confident others will cooperate. The heirs have agreed to lend the drawings to Cologne and a plaque will honor the memory and suffering of Alfred Flechtheim.
Mel Urbach and Markus Stoetzel, jointly represent the heirs of Alfred Flechtheim and are at the forefront of Art Restitution. Several Flechtheim claims have been successfully resolved including the recent return of a Portrait of Tilla Durieux by Oskar Kokoschka earlier this year.