5.12.2022
In an interview with Verena Greb of Deutsche Welle, dtb partner and art lawyer Dr Pascal Decker talks about whether a stolen painting by Kandinsky may have been auctioned off at the Berlin auction house Grisebach.
The painting went under the hammer for just under 310.000 euros. In the same auction, Max Beckmann's "Self-Portrait Yellow and Pink" was sold for 20 million euros. The Polish Embassy in Berlin claims that the painting by Kandinsky was stolen from the Warsaw National Museum in 1984.
In an interview with Deutsche Welle, Dr Pascal Decker firmly believes that the databases of stolen paintings were properly checked at the Grisebach auction house. It is known that the consignor and art patron Maren Otto from Hamburg acquired the painting in 1988 from the Galerie Thomas in Munich. Decker currently sees no reason to doubt Ms Otto's good faith. Thus, even in the event of a theft in Warsaw, it is probable that the consignor "acquired" ownership of the painting as a result of good faith. This is possible under German law.
To the full DW article (also published by Focus Online)
5.12.2022
In an interview with Verena Greb of Deutsche Welle, dtb partner and art lawyer Dr Pascal Decker talks about whether a stolen painting by Kandinsky may have been auctioned off at the Berlin auction house Grisebach.
The painting went under the hammer for just under 310.000 euros. In the same auction, Max Beckmann's "Self-Portrait Yellow and Pink" was sold for 20 million euros. The Polish Embassy in Berlin claims that the painting by Kandinsky was stolen from the Warsaw National Museum in 1984.
In an interview with Deutsche Welle, Dr Pascal Decker firmly believes that the databases of stolen paintings were properly checked at the Grisebach auction house. It is known that the consignor and art patron Maren Otto from Hamburg acquired the painting in 1988 from the Galerie Thomas in Munich. Decker currently sees no reason to doubt Ms Otto's good faith. Thus, even in the event of a theft in Warsaw, it is probable that the consignor "acquired" ownership of the painting as a result of good faith. This is possible under German law.
To the full DW article (also published by Focus Online)