The Art Institute of Chicago won a temporary legal victory over the heirs of a Jewish art collector who was not allowed to return to Austria during World War II. The museum was able to keep Egon Schiele's painting Russian War Prisoner in its collection after Judge John G. Koeltl sided with it. The judge asked the court to reconsider the claim from the fall that halted their attempt to get the painting restituted. A judge ruled in favor of the Art Institute of Chicago in November of 2023. The descendants of Grnbaum, Timothy Reif, David Fraenkel, and Milos Vavra, have tried to recover a portrait of a seated male soldier which they claim was illegally acquired and inventoried by Nazi officials. According to court documents reviewed by ARTnews, Koeltl denied that the museum acquired the work illegally. The Manhattan District Attorney's office argued last month that the work was stolen from the Chicago museum. The painting is currently held at the museum under a temporary seizure-in-place order Koeltl stated in the filing that the claims of the heirs did not have to be reconsidered due to state law. The HEAR Act was supposed to make it easier for heirs to claim art that was taken during WWII. The court found that the changes failed to address the fundamental issue of the statute of limitations. The Art Institute of Chicago has always acted in good faith, according to the statement from Megan Michienzi. We would return the work if it were not legal, but that is not the case here according to the latest federal court ruling.
The New York law that recognizes the rightful owner of stolen art was cited by a lawyer for Grnbaum's heirs. He said that the heirs would pursue all available remedies to recover artworks stolen from Grnbaum.
The Art Institute of Chicago has until March 13 to dismiss the claim in order to end the suit. The museum needs to prove that it has a good title in order to hold on to the work.