Art Market Monitor

Bloomberg has the news from the Prague restitution conference:

“I am more and more convinced, particularly in the art area, that we in the U.S. need some type of arbitration commission,” Eizenstat, a former Undersecretary for Commerce and deputy Treasury secretary, said in an interview in Prague. The panel would “provide some expert judgments on these cases which now go to court in endless litigation,” he said. [...]

No general claims resolution has been set up for dealing with Nazi art claims, and claims are mostly dealt with on an ad hoc basis that requires claimants ultimately to go through courts,” the Jewish Claims Conference said in a report. The claims body was reporting to the Prague meeting on how far countries have made good on their Washington pledges.

“Some museums have started to file suits against claimants to ‘quiet title,’ thereby invoking technical legal defenses in order to avoid restituting objects and compelling claimants to spend large sums in legal fees,” the report said.

Eizenstat Favors U.S. Nazi Loot Panel to Advise on Disputed Art (Bloomberg)

Also of Interest:

• Reworking Restitution
  The Washington Post previews the Prague conference and shares more stories of the knotty nature of restitution cases: Government officials...
  
• The State of Restitution
  On the eve of the Prague conference, Bloomberg’s Catherine Hickey surveys the progress and the prospects for restitution: “Much too...
  
• Miserable History
  The horrible legacy of Nazi expropriation of art work still bedevils German museums as the International Herald Tribune points out....
  
• German Gov’t Reaffirms Restitution Commitment
  Sir Norman Rosenthal, formerly of the Royal Academy in London, has been the rare vocal opponent of restitution. His objections...
  
• Yet Another Restitution Story–But a Really Good One
  Today’s must read restitution story is Bloomberg’s tale of a Pissarro–up for auction in London’s June Impressionist sale at Christie’s...