Louvre museum returns Nazi-looted artwork (BBC)

[frazzled]

14. Naw, I just know his daughter

He was a prominent figure in the museum world after the war, and died quite young in the 1960s. Since she has never talked about him much (she has her own distinguished arts career), what I know comes from the same sorts of sources, including the documentary PBS did on The Monuments Men.

Waking up this morning and thinking about this discussion, I feel I should clarify my personal position. I was always absolutely in favor of the restitution of the work, as I am in all cases. What bothered me was that, after all the years of fighting to reclaim the family's due heritage, they turned around and just sold them all for bundles of cash. I certainly don't begrudge them for having sold to Lauder, and at least the work would have visibility that way; but to have turned the remaining four to anonymous private collectors seemed to me to be very sad and disrespectful, not just of the art but of the family's history. It seems pecuniary to the highest degree. I guess I just value art more than money, and I believe that people who own art have some responsibility for what happens to it in its future. It's as if they didn't care a whit about these paintings, or about the uncle and aunt who cherished them. The family may have gotten justice, but the majority of the works did not.