NY State Supreme Court Awards Possession of Egon Schiele Watercolor to Heir of Holocaust Victim In First U.S. Nazi-Looted Art Trial

08/05/2024|2 minute read

In the first Nazi-looted art trial in U.S., NY State Supreme Court awards possession of highly valuable watercolor by Austrian artist Egon Schiele to be returned to the heir of Holocaust victim.

The culmination of a nearly 10-year legal battle has ended with the heir of a Viennese art collector murdered in the Holocaust, being awarded possession of the 1917 watercolor "Portrait of the Artist's Wife" by Austrian painter Egon Schiele.

This case was a three-way dispute, and is the first case about Nazi-looted art to go to trial in the United States.

Karl Maylander is said to have owned the painting before being deported to Poland and murdered by the Nazis. Maylander's only surviving heir, Eva Zirkl, passed away earlier this year, having created the Susan Zirkl Memorial Foundation Trust, a charity dedicated to Autism research. The Zirkl Trust was awarded the painting by New York State Supreme Court Justice Daniel J. Doyle in a ruling issued today in Monroe County.

The case is notable not only because Schiele has become regarded as a highly influential artist of his era and involves Nazi looted artwork, but a party of the lawsuit is a foundation tied to the storied Lehman banking family. Robert O. Lehman, Sr.-the last Lehman to head Lehman Brothers-in 1964. The Lehman family maintained ownership of the painting until 2016, when it was gifted to the Robert Owen Lehman Foundation, which sought to auction the painting through Christie's. Christie's believed the painting could be Nazi looted art, and notified both the Mayländer Heirs and the heirs of another well-known Viennese art collector, Heinrich Rieger, who also was murdered by the Nazis.

After the parties could not resolve the matter, the case proceeded to trial in Rochester, where the Lehman Foundation commenced the case. After discovery, the case proceeded to trial, beginning in May, with each of the three parties presenting evidence and a number of expert witnesses.

In his 86-page, well-reasoned decision, Justice Doyle stated, "The evidence presented at trial establishes by a preponderance of the evidence that the Mayländer Heirs have superior title to the Drawing…"

BakerHostetler Partner Oren Warshavsky, who represented Eva Zirkl, said, "The recovery of artwork looted during the Holocaust is an important way to restore dignity and justice to Holocaust victims and their families. We are thrilled that the Court's disciplined and detailed review of the evidence resulted in the right decision."

In addition to Warshavsky, the BakerHostetler team included Tatiana Markel, Michelle Usitalo, and Victoria Stork.

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