Superintendent Adrienne A. Harris Secures Return of 20th Century Drawing to the Heirs of Dr. Hans Heymann

Superintendent Adrienne A. Harris Secures Return of 20th Century Drawing to the Heirs of Dr. Hans Heymann

New York Department of Financial Services ("DFS") Superintendent Adrienne A. Harris today announced that the Brücke Museum in Berlin restituted Max Pechstein's drawing TwoFemale Dancers (1910) to the heirs of Dr. Hans Heymann. It was acquired by the Brücke Museum, Berlin in 1971 from the Galerie Pels-Leusden in Berlin and was formerly in the Berlin collection of Dr. Hans Heymann.

"The resolution of this claim was a culmination of the hard work and dedication of the Holocaust Claims Processing Office and its partnership with the Die Brücke," said Superintendent Adrienne A. Harris. "This settlement provides a measure of closure and justice for the Heymann family and further preserves Pechstein's legacy."

Kendra Heymann Sagoff said, "The Heymann family is deeply grateful to the Holocaust Claims Processing Office. The HCPO team's appreciation of the uniquely personal nature of the Heymann Pechstein Memorial collection and their unwavering commitment to justice have resulted in the first restitution of a Pechstein work to the Heymann family in more than 75 years."

Lisa Marei Schmidt, Director of the Brücke-Museum said, "The close collaboration with Hans Heymann's heirs and the Holocaust Claims Processing Office (HCPO) was a wonderful experience through which I had the privilege of learning a great deal about the large Pechstein collection and the Heymanns' moving family history. To me, the restitution of this Pechstein drawing is a positive sign that together, it is possible to find human, ethical, legal solutions across generations and borders."

Dr. Hans Heymann (1885-1949), an economist and insurance professional, began assembling one of the most significant early collections of artworks by the Expressionist Max Pechstein in 1909. When the Nazis came to power in 1933, he was prohibited from practicing his profession and his family fled to the United States in July 1936 after placing their household belongings, including the prized Pechstein collection, in storage at a warehouse in Berlin. The Heymanns' belongings were confiscated in late 1941 by the Nazis, and their collection of forty-one paintings and numerous Pechstein drawings were subsequently deemed degenerate art.

Dr. Heymann and wife diligently searched for the Pechstein collection after the Second World War with Max Pechstein's assistance. After the couple's death, the search was continued by Heymann's son, the prominent economist Hans Heymann Jr. and his wife. DFS' Holocaust Claims Processing Office (HCPO) initially submitted a claim for the return of the drawing to the Brücke Museum in February 2016. After extensive research and discussion, the museum decided to return it to the Heymann heirs, and it will be displayed in the museum's forthcoming exhibition Biographies of Modern Art. Collectors and Their Works (September 1 - November 24, 2024), part of which will be devoted to and feature Dr. Heymann and his collection.

The HCPO is a unit of the New York State Department of Financial Services. It was created in 1997 to help Holocaust victims and their heirs recover: assets deposited in banks; unpaid proceeds of insurance policies issued by European insurers; and artworks that were lost, looted or sold under duress. The HCPO does not charge claimants for its services. To date, the HCPO has responded to thousands of inquiries and received claims from all 50 states and 53 countries. The office has helped secure over $183 million in offers for bank, insurance, and other losses. The office has also facilitated settlements involving more than 250 cultural objects.

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