One of the first cases is over two drawings by Egon Schiele that were once owned by Fritz Grunbaum. The Nazis took Grunbaum’s artwork from his home in Vienna in 1938 and sent him to a concentration camp, where he died.
His heirs claim the Nazis stole the artwork.
However, that has been disputed by dealers, current owners and museums, who claim the Nazis only inventoried the works. They also claim that Grunbaum’s sister-in-law sold some of the works, including the two drawings in the current dispute, to a dealer in the 1950s.
Grunbaum’s heirs have previously lost in court trying to recover this artwork.
They claim they have lost for the very technical reasons that the HEAR Act was designed to prevent.
