The case

Taking stock means being accountable. The Kunstmuseum Bern accepted the legacy of Cornelius Gurlitt (1932 – 2014) in November 2014. Since December 2021, around 1600 works of art from the estate of the art dealer Hildebrand Gurlitt (1895 – 1956) have also physically arrived at the museum. For more see link1 and link2.

Source: Kunst Museum Bern and NZZ today (page 29)

The commentary

When the Kunstmuseum Bern decided to accept the estate of Cornelius Gurlitt in November 2014, it agreed on a procedure that would distinguish between clear and unclear provenance attributions. In 2017, the first Swiss department for provenance research was founded at the Kunstmuseum Bern. It set new standards with a traffic light system. Thus, unproblematic works in the exhibition are marked with the provenance category “green”. At the end of 2021, the Kunstmuseum Bern decided to also take over works with incomplete provenance, but without references or links to Nazi looted art. These works belong to the provenance category “yellow-green”. In the case of Nazi looted art (“Red” category), it was clear from the outset that the inheritance would be rejected. (Source: NZZ)

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