: Steven Fusco of Estates Unlimited was forced to make a tough call
during the auction house's first serious Fine Art sale as the
anticipated top lot was revealed to be stolen Nazi art.
According to the auction gallery, the dramatic and compelling oil
on canvas by German genre and portrait artist Francois
Winterhalter (German, 1806-1873) had been identified by the Art
Loss Registry.
The Winterhalter had reportedly been the property of renowned
German art dealer Max Stern. Stern had a gallery in Germany, and
was forced by the Third Reich to sell his works at a fraction of
their value at a Nazi friendly art gallery in Cologne. It had
been purchased there by a relative of the consignor.
"We had a customer who was actually en route to the auction from
California, who stated that he was willing to go to $150,000 for
the Winterhalter," said a frustrated Fusco. "Legally, we weren't
obligated to withdraw the painting, but we felt morally obligated
to do so."
