BERLIN (AFP) ― Museums and heirs have begun to stake claims to a vast trove of priceless paintings long hidden in a German flat, as calls mount for authorities to publish a definitive list of the works.Prominent lawyer and art patron Peter Raue, who works closely with museums in Berlin, said Germany must do its part for transparency as many families of Jews stripped of their assets under the Nazis believe their works may be among those found.“It would be more sensible to post the paintings on th

BERLIN (AFP) ― Identifying the rightful owners of a vast trove of art looted by the Nazis will be an enormous task potentially complicated by the German authorities’ insistence on discretion, experts said Wednesday.The more than 1,400 artworks found last year stashed in the Munich apartment of Cornelius Gurlitt, son of a powerful Nazi-era art dealer, represent perhaps the largest discovery of missing 20th century art in Europe since World War II. But beyond its scope, its richness is staggering,

AUGSBURG, Germany (AP) ― German investigators on Tuesday showed images of some of the hoard of more than 1,400 art works they found at a Munich apartment. Here is a glance at some of the highlights.Max Liebermann “Two riders on the beach,” a favorite subject of the German painter that recurs repeatedly in his work. Investigators didn’t give details of the work’s history. Liebermann, who was Jewish, quit Germany’s Academy of Arts in 1933 after it decided no longer to exhibit works by Jewish artis

Restitution remains a complex legal, moral problem

BERLIN (AFP) ― The discovery in a rubbish-strewn flat in Germany of nearly 1,500 paintings including works by Picasso and Matisse looted by the Nazis sparked urgent calls Monday to hunt for their rightful owners.The shock find was reported Sunday by news weekly Focus, which valued the works at around 1 billion euros ($1.3 billion). German government spokesman Steffen Seibert said Berlin had been aware of the case for “several months” and was assisting an investigation by public prosecutors with

NEW YORK (AFP) ― Some of the finest masterpieces of 20th century art are the highlights of New York’s November auction season, poised to set new sales records in a flourishing market.The sum total of impressionist, modern, post-war and contemporary art being offered by Christie’s and Sotheby’s is expected to fetch more than $1.5 billion at combined evening and day sales from Nov. 4 to 13.Both auction houses are chasing world records for a string of artists, riding high on an explosion in art sal

BERLIN (AFP) ― Nearly 1,500 priceless paintings including works by Picasso and Matisse that were stolen by the Nazis have been discovered in a flat in Munich, a news report said Sunday.The German weekly Focus said police came upon the paintings during a 2011 search in an apartment belonging to the octogenarian son of art collector Hildebrand Gurlitt, who had bought them during the 1930s and 1940s.The search was carried out because the son, Cornelius Gurlitt, was under suspicion for tax evasion,