Gurlitt Blinks … a Little Over Munich Hoard

The Wall Street Journal reports on the latest slight movement in the Gurlitt case:

“We want to take responsibility,” Hannes Hartung, a lawyer representing the son, Cornelius Gurlitt, told The Wall Street Journal on Friday.

While the willingness to negotiate marks a sharp change in Mr. Gurlitt’s previous refusal to consider any returns, the potential for continued clashes with families seeking restitution appeared far from over.

Mr. Hartung said that out of the more than 1,400 pieces in the collection, “very few” could be characterized as looted. German officials have said previously that the figure could reach into the hundreds.

“There are very few cases that could even possibly be looted art,” Mr. Hartung said in a telephone interview. “But we are trying hard to find fair solutions for looted works in accordance with the Washington Principles,” he said, referring to international guidelines that Germany signed in 1998.

Son of Nazi-era Art Dealer Signals Readiness to Discuss Restitution (WSJ.com)