Chabot
Goudstikker
Gutmann
Koenigs
Lanz
Larsen
Mannheimer
Mautner
Von Pannwitz
J.J.M. Chabot Collection, Montreux/Brussels
The non-Jewish collector Chabot had loaned various paintings to Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam and the Centraal Museum in Utrecht before the war. In 1942, these loans were claimed in order for them to be sold on the art market.Part of the collection was auctioned on 1 September 1940 at auction house Van Marle en Bignell in The Hague. The highlight of this auction (also for the press) was the auction of Rembrandt’s Clemency of Titus, which changed hands for Fl. 300,000. The auction’s total proceeds amounted to Fl. 586,050.
On 13 October 1950, mr. J. Jolles stated with regard to the Chabot case: ‘It is unnecessary to deal with the Chabot paintings matter, as it may be assumed that the paintings in question were voluntarily sold by Mr Heer Chabot, also taking into account that these paintings have not been claimed neither by Mr Chabot or his heirs.’ Correspondence between the SNK and the Chabot heirs has not been found.
The art dealer J. Goudstikker NV and the art dealer Goudstikker/Miedl
The art dealer J. Goudstikker NV was one of the largest Dutch art dealers before the Second World War. In 1919 Jacques Goudstikker (1897-1940) joined the company of his father, which he restructured as a public limited liability company of which he himself was the director and major shareholder. On 16 May 1940 Jacques Goudstikker tragically died during his flight to England. His executor had died six days earlier. In tradestock at that moment were approximately 1,113 numbered paintings and a number of unnumbered paintings. These works of art are specified in the report under 'J. Goudstikker (kunsthandel)'. If the purchase date of a painting from the former collection of the J. Goudstikker art dealership is unknown, but the work concerned is listed in Jacques Goudstikker's pocket book in which he had jotted down his trading stock at the time of his flight to England, provenance overviews should state 10 May 1940 as the date before which the work definitely entered into his property.On 3 June 1940 A.A. ten Broek was appointed director. On 13 July 1940 Ten Broek signed two contracts by which the property of the firm was sold to two parties: Hermann Göring bought all paintings and art objects for a purchase price of NLG 2,000,000.-, and the German banker Alois Miedl bought the remaining assets of the company, including the real estate, for NLG 550,000.-. In this transaction Miedl also bought the right to the trade name J. Goudstikker. Everything that was sold after 13 July 1940 is indicated in this report by Goudstikker/Miedl (kunsthandel). Eventually, in 1952, the negotiations with regard to the restitution of rights (for the transaction with Miedl) resulted in a settlement. This settlement, the so-called 'amicable restitution of rights', resulted in many of the items which were the subject of the transaction with Miedl being returned. The rights to the remaining works of art were relinquished.
In 1998 the heirs of Goudstikker claimed the old stocks of the art dealer J. Goudstikker. This claim was rejected by the State Secretary of Education, Culture and Science. There are still legal procedures in progress concerning this matter.
F.B.E. Gutmann (1886-1944) Collection
The German banker and art collector F.B.E. Gutmann established himself in the Netherlands with his wife L.E. Gutmann-Von Landau in 1919. In 1924, he assumed Dutch nationality. Adding to his father Eugen Gutmann's collection, the couple brought together a large number of artworks in their stately home 'Bosbeek' in Heemstede.
During the years 1939 - 1942 circumstances led the Gutmanns to sell their art collection. For example, in 1939 Mr Gutmann sent a number of the most valuable paintings to Paris for safekeeping where they were confiscated during the war. In that same year, Mr Gutmann offered to sell a number of objects to the art dealer Rosenberg, which were later bought by Göring in 1940. Mr Gutmann then sold the remaining works of art to the German art dealers Böhler and Haberstock. This took place in 1941 and 1942 as laid down in three different agreements. In 1943, the couple was arrested before they could realise their escape attempt. Mr and Mrs Gutmann both died in the concentration camps.
After the war, only a few of the paintings which were taken to Paris were recovered. These were returned to the family along with the other objects which came back from Germany of which the authorities were certain that these had not been sold.
Many of the objects which Böhler and Haberstock had bought were also recuperated after the war. Disagreement between the Stichting Nederlands Kunstbezit [Netherlands Art Property Foundation] and the Gutmann couple's heirs with regard to the right to restitution led to a judgement by the judge charged with matters concerning the right to restitution in 1952. The judge ruled that the purchase agreements concerned had not been concluded under direct coercion, but had been concluded "under the influence of the exceptional circumstances" and were therefore eligible for 'restitution'. The heirs were allocated the right to restitution on condition that the sales price received during the war be handed over to the State. This latter matter on the basis of the determination by the judge that the amount received had actually benefited F.B.E. Gutmann's estate. This judgement was then executed during the '50s and many objects were returned.
A large number of objects from the Gutmann collection can still be found in the current NK collection. In the meantime, one of the heirs has made claims to these objects.
F.W. Koenigs (1881-1941) Collection
The German banker and art collector Franz W. Koenigs established himself in Haarlem, the Netherlands in 1923 and obtained Dutch citizenship in early 1939.
Starting in the 1920s, Koenigs assembled a collection of old master drawings which eventually numbered 2,671. Koenigs also collected paintings including a large number of works by Rubens. In 1933, Koenigs used his collection as collateral for a loan from the Jewish bank Lisser & Rosenkranz. In 1935, the works of art were loaned to Museum Boymans in Rotterdam.
Under threat of the impending invasion, the Lisser & Rozenkranz bank commenced winding-up their operations. Koenigs was unable to repay the loan and so his art collection became fully owned by the bank on 2 April 1940. The entire collection of drawings and 12 paintings were then sold to D.G. van Beuningen by Lisser & Rozenkranz who left them in Museum Boymans. The remaining 35 paintings were collected in Rotterdam on 19 April 1940 by the art dealer Jacques Goudstikker.
On 16 May 1940, Jacques Goudstikker died. Various paintings were sold by the Goudstikker/Miedl art dealership to clients including H. Göring and H. Hoffmann.
Albert J. Elen, Missing Old Master Drawings from Franz Koenings collection claimed by the State of the Netherlands, The Hague, 1989, pp.8-25
O. Lanz (1865-1935) Collection
The Swiss professor of surgery Otto Lanz, a resident of Amsterdam, compiled an important collection of early Italian art. In the period July-October 1934, a significant part of his collection was included in the exhibition Italiaansche kunst in Nederlandsch bezit at the Rijksmuseum. After the death of Otto Lanz on 23 March 1935, the collection, consisting of paintings, sculpture, furniture and ceramics (approx. 430 objects), was entrusted to the Rijksmuseum by the Lanz heirs. Owing to the financial situation of Otto Lanz's inheritance, sale seemed unavoidable, even before Lanz died he seems to have occupied himself with the sale on condition that the collection remain intact. Shortly after the invasion of the Germans in May 1940, two German buyers came forward: Hitler and Göring. Through the mediation of H. Posse (Director of the Staatliche Gemäldegalerie Dresden), W. Wickel (Sonderreferat Kulturaustausch) and the Dutch art dealer N. Katz, the collection was sold to Hitler by the widow Lanz, who lived in Switzerland, in April 1941 for 2 million Swiss francs and 350,000 Dutch guilders. Her son G.B. Lanz, who resided in the Netherlands, and the notary public C.G. Pouw conducted the negotiations in the Netherlands. The heirs of Lanz donated four objects to the Rijksmuseum in February of 1941. In the NK collection at present are 103 objects with a Lanz provenance, of which 77 are included in this interim report.
H.L. Larsen (died 1937) Collection A part of the collection of paintings of Hans Ludwig Larsen, who died on 3 November 1937, was lent by his widow, Mrs S. Larsen-Menzel, to the Leiden museum De Lakenhal on 6 July 1939.
In 1943 the paintings from the Larsen collection were brought to the Hague auction house Van Marle en Bignell by order of the Verwalter (administrator) Mr M.H.H. Franssen. F. Mannheimer (1890 - 1939) Collection The banker of German Jewish origin Dr. Fritz Mannheimer was a major art collector. He was also a partner in the Amsterdam branch of the Mendelssohn & Co bank. In 1936, he was naturalised as a Dutchman. Mendelssohn & Co. Provided Mannheimer with an unlimited credit facility which he used, among other things, for the purchase of works of art. In 1934, Mannheimer already had a considerable debt to the bank. Mannheimer and Mendelssohn & Co. Agreed that the ownership of the entire Mannheimer art collection would be transferred to the Artistic and General Securities Company Limited1. The latter then loaned the collection to Mannheimer. In spite of the agreement that Mannheimer would stop collecting, the collection continued to grow steadily after 1934. Upon his death, the bank’s claim on Mannheimer amounted to approximately thirteen million guilders. In 1939, shortly after Mannheimer’s death, Mendelssohn & Co. Got into financial trouble and applied for a suspension of payments for the company and for each of the individual partners.
Curator Korthals Altes had a study carried out into which art objects in Mannheimer’s home at Hobbemastraat 20 were Artistic’s property and which objects Mannheimer had purchased after 1934. This inventory brought to light that various art objects proved to have been transferred to England via under Mrs M. Mannheimer-Reiss’s name. The curator called into question the validity of this transaction.
Shortly after the German invasion, various German buyers showed interest in the Mannheimer collection. Eventually, the collection was purchased by Hitler through the Dienststelle Mühlmann. The paintings and drawings which were stored under Mrs Mannheimer’s name were included in this transaction. Mrs Mannheimer was in New York during the war. After the war, the former Mannheimer collection was confiscated by the Americans in Germany and transferred to the Netherlands and France in accordance with the Potsdam agreements.
Mrs Mannheimer waived her claim on part of the artworks recuperated to France. The parties involved agreed that both Artistic and the curator would abstain from making claims for the restitution of rights.
Literature
- H.W. van Os, 'Otto Lanz en het verzamelen van vroege Italiaanse kunst in Nederland', Bulletin of the Rijksmuseum, 1978, volume 26, no.4
- Exhib.cat. Italiaansche kunst in Nederlandsch bezit, Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, July 1934
- R. & M. Seydewitz, Die Dame mit dem Hermelin, Berlin 1963, p.139-146
- R. & M. Seydewitz, Das Mädchen mit der Perle, Berlin 1972, p.156-165
From the printer's proof of the auction catalogue it appears that the paintings were to be auctioned on 25 January 1943. On 14 January 1943, before the actual auction took place, a number of paintings were sold to E. Göpel. He bought the paintings for the Führermuseum in Linz. As a result, in the official auction catalogue the paintings sold to Göpel were not included.
From the available post-war correspondence of the Stichting Nederlansch Kunstbezit [Netherlands Art Property Foundation], the Nederlandsch Beheersinstituut [Netherlands Custodian Office] and the executor of the Larsen estate, Mr B.P. Gomperts, it appears that the recovered paintings from the Larsen collection could be returned for a payment of NLG 82,895.- to the heirs of Larsen. In the correspondence of 23 July 1947 Mr Gomperts waived restoration of rights.
In this interim report there are nine paintings included that were lent by Mrs Larsen-Menzel in 1939 to De Lakenhal. There are also two paintings discussed that were not lent to De Lakenhal, but were taken to the auction house Van Marle en Bignell.
In the context of the Museum Research (Nederlandse Museum Vereniging) [Netherlands Museum Association] the museum De Lakenhal is conducting extensive archive research into the Larsen collection and the relationship with De Lakenhal.
E.J. Korthals Altes, Verzameling Mannheimer, Amsterdam 1975. In: Bibliotheek Rijskmuseum Amsterdam nr.512 B2
W. Mautner (1889-1944) Collection
The banker Dr. Wilhelm Mautner, moved to the Netherlands from Vienna well before World War II. He had no children and was unmarried. His immediate family consisted of a sister and a brother who lived in England and a brother who lived in Gambier, Ohio U.S.A. He collected paintings and like so many collectors in those days also regularly sold them.
On 22 July 1941, Mautner drew up a new will in which he appointed his brother in America the sole heir, probably with the intention that his inheritance not be confiscated due to being earmarked as feindvermögen if he left it to family living in England.
In February 1942, Mautner moved to Tugelaweg in Amsterdam as a result of the forced relocation of Jews. He sent a large part of his possessions and paintings to the collector Dr. J. van Dongen on the Museumplein for safekeeping. The latter kept all the items until after the war.
On 15 December 1943, Dr. Mautner was put on transport via Westerbork. Preceding this he asked his friend Wetzlar to sell a painting by Brueghel (NK2297) for him. The painting was sold to Walter Kadzik in Vienna in 1943. Kadzik later sold the painting to Ludwighafen. On 25 February 1949, Wetzlar declared to the Commissiariaat Generaal van de Nederlandsche Economische Belangen in Duitsland (The Commissariat General for Dutch Economic Interests in Germany) that Mr Mautner received full remuneration for this painting.
Wilhelm Mautner died in Auschwitz around 29 September 1944.
The file of the Netherlands Custodian Office proves that after the war Mautner's inheritance was carefully and thoroughly settled by his executor. Wetzlar aided in this settlement, among other things in the delicate matter of a painting that Mautner had bought during the war and that proved to originate from a Jewish person who had died (Mautner was not aware of this fact) and with regard to a sum of money that Mautner had been keeping for someone.
In the years 1905-1920, the Berlin lawyer Dr. Walter von Pannwitz built up an extensive collection of paintings and applied arts. He was advised in this by H. Bode and M. Friedländer. After his death in 1920, his widow Catalina von Pannwitz (an Argentinean citizen) moved to the Netherlands where she moved into the stately home "De Hartekamp" in Heemstede. In 1925, the collection was described by Friedländer and Falcke.
In 1940, with mediation from F. Gutmann, Catalina von Pannwitz sold five paintings to Göring who then ensured that she received an exit visa to Switzerland.
After the war, she notified the SNK [Netherlands Art Property Foundation] in writing that she had no interest in the return of the paintings. The fact that the sum which she received for the sale of the paintings to Göring was then described as "exceptionally high" may have played a role in this.