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Chawky Frenn is a great activist in many realms. He is dedicated to teaching new artists at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia; produces books on the fine arts of the unde rappreciated city of Boston, with which he has close ties; and is an active figurative painter whose work focuses on bold topics such as the human condition and governmental issues.Read it here.
In June of 2012, the Henie Onstad Kunstsenter (HOK) was contacted by the heirs of Paul Rosenberg. The heirs presented documentation demonstrating that Henri Matisse’s painting Profil bleu devant la cheminée (Woman in Blue in Front of a Fireplace) dated 1937, was unlawfully dispossessed as a result of Nazi persecution from the famed French gallery owner and collector. Although Mr Rosenberg was able to flee to New York with his family in 1940, artworks belonging to him were confiscated by the special Nazi looting agency known as the Einsatzstab Reichsleiter Rosenberg (ERR). This painting was one of 162 works looted on September 5, 1941, and was therefore subject to an active claim of restitution by the Rosenberg heirs.
In 1942, the painting was used in trade by agents for Nazi Reichsmarschall Hermann Goering, and subsequently acquired by Gustav Rochlitz, an art dealer active in Paris who was convicted in 1947 before a French Tribunal for trading illicitly acquired property during the Nazi occupation.
The painting was acquired by Niels Onstad from Galerie Henri Bénézit in Paris around 1950 and it has been a part of HOK’s collection since 1961. From 1946-1960, Paul Rosenberg and his heirs made numerous declarations in search of the painting to no avail. None of these reached Mr Onstad nor HOK. Prior to including the painting in the HOK Collection in 1960, Niels Onstad requested detailed provenance information, but did not discover the Rosenberg claim. Since then, the "provenance Paul Rosenberg Collection" has followed the painting in catalogues and numerous exhibitions all over the world. The knowledge of the whereabouts of the painting did not reach the heirs of Paul Rosenberg.
Although it is HOK’s unwavering position that both Niels Onstad, and subsequently HOK, acquired the painting in good faith, HOK has chosen to adhere to international conventions and return the painting to Rosenberg’s heirs, a decision for which the heirs express their deep appreciation.
“Henie Onstad Kunstsenter’s extensive investigation of the case has led to the decision that the return is justified, and HOK’s board has decided to return the painting without further conditions” says Halvor Stenstadvold, chairman of the board of HOK.
“This painting has been in our collection since HOK was founded; it is a key work, important for both HOK and its patrons. The comprehensive investigations have been exhaustive and HOK has taken the time necessary to examine all available facts in the case. The case may serve as a precedent for similar cases in the future. Our knowledge of archives and resources regarding provenance research will be made available to the public through a variety of exhibitions, seminars and publications during 2015” says Tone Hansen, HOK’s director.
Research was conducted by the HOK and the Rosenberg heirs in French and American archives, and HOK has collaborated with a number of museums, institutions and experts in France. The investigations confirmed that the painting was stolen from Paul Rosenberg as a result of Nazi persecution.
Christopher A. Marinello, a lawyer specializing in the restitution of cultural property, who handled the negotiations for the Rosenberg family, commented:
“This case illustrates the importance of Museums and cultural institutions undertaking comprehensive reviews of their collections in accordance with the Washington Conference Principles. The HOK is to be commended for their methodological approach in reviewing the provenance documentation we presented as well as the legal issues involved. Ultimately, it was the strength of the moral claim that persuaded the HOK to restitute this painting unconditionally to the Rosenberg heirs. We are grateful to our researchers in France and the United States whose expertise and assistance in this matter were invaluable.”
The case is the first of its kind in Norway, and while all such cases must be treated individually, HOK’s resolution will most likely impact other Norwegian institutions. HOK’s evaluations have thus been methodical, exhaustive, and under the guidance of the Ministry of Culture. It has been a demanding process for a single institution to undertake, and as a result HOK has called for the formation of a national committee. This committee would be charged with examining public collections and will be modeled after similar programs undertaken in the Netherlands, Germany and France.
Norway was one of the signatories of the Washington Conference Principles on Nazi- Confiscated Art in 1998 along with 43 other countries. HOK is a member of the International Council of Museums (ICOM) whose Code of Ethics were considered in conjunction with the Washington Conference Principles.
This restitution signifies the resolution of one claim for the Rosenberg heirs, but as for many families affected by Nazi-era looting, the challenging search continues for numerous spoliated works yet to be recovered.
The exhibition, produced by her husband, F. Steven Kijek, explores for the first time Cleary’s use of photography in creating her paintings and works on paper. Within the arc of these works one can follow Cleary’s observation and exploration of composition, shadow and light in her photographs and her final works. Cleary, who passed away in 2011, was an acclaimed artist and was heavily involved in the DC arts scene for several decades.
The exhibition runs from April 4 to April 26, with an opening reception on Friday, April 4 from 6 pm to 9 pm in the Arts Club of Washington’s galleries located at 2017 “I” Street, NW, Washington, D.C. Dr. Jack Rasmussen, director and curator of the American University Museum at the Katzen Arts Center, is the guest curator for the exhibition.
This exhibition is the first to focus on the artist’s use of photographic studies and provides fresh insight into Cleary’s creative process. The show presents works from the Estate of Manon Cleary, as well as a few private collectors, including selections from Cleary’s Mystery Series, Breathless Series, and graphite drawings, all to be displayed beside her photographic studies.
Cleary explained that she worked primarily from photographs, stating that she used “graphite or oils to produce works that are photographically convincing but not necessarily with fidelity to my photo sources. I would like the viewer to notice the unique interpretation – the “me”- I bring to my work.” Cleary wrote in the early 1980s, “abstraction of forms successfully freed me from reliance on photo images, with results being photographically convincing, but not photographically accurate.”
The Arts Club of Washington will host additional events open to the public to further explore the art of Manon Cleary. A symposium, “Between Painting and Photography: The Vision of Manon Cleary,” will be held on April 9 from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm. Panelists will include Susan Hauptman, whose drawings are in numerous museum collections including those of the National Portrait Gallery, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Corcoran Gallery, Judy Greenberg, director of the Kreeger Museum, Jared Miller, a former student of Cleary’s, Jack Rasmussen, director and curator of the American University Museum at the Katzen Art Center, Eric Denker, senior lecturer at the National Gallery of Art, and Erich Keel, former head of education at the Kreeger Museum.
A catalog produced for this exhibition features an essay by Stephen May, a frequent contributor to Art News and other publications. In addition, F. Steven Kijek will present an illustrated lecture on Manon Cleary’s life and art on April 22 from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm. The Arts Club invites the academic community to use the exhibition for its fine art and art history students and plans additional opportunities for use by professors and students.
Read it here.Code enforcement officers in Colorado are agreeing with neighbors who say several toilets hanging from a tree in a community near Colorado Springs are not art.
Hi,I created a petition to Dr. Theodore E Stebbins, Curator American Art, which says:"Ask Dr. Theodore E Stebbins of the Harvard Fogg Museum to allow two of America’s most important masterpieces forensically authenticated to the catalogue raisonne for Martin Johnson Heade."Will you sign this petition? Click here:
Thanks!Victor
Read the whole article in the Art Law Journal here.As a general rule, when an artistic or literary work is created, the author is the one that holds the copyright. Nobody can copy, distribute, or display the work without the author’s permission. When an painting is sold, the buyer owns the painting itself, but does not have the right to use that image for anything else other than to hang it. But what happens if the artist was hired specifically to create that painting for the cover of an upcoming novel? In some cases, the copyright is owned by the buyer, but only under very specific conditions.For the hiring party to own a copyright on a the specially ordered or freelance work, there must be:
