Art stolen by Nazis during World War II returned to original owner's family
NEW YORK -- Two art pieces stolen by Nazis during World War II were returned to the family of their original owners Friday.
It's part of an ongoing effort by the Manhattan district attorney's office to retrieve stolen pieces.
Egon Schiele's "Girl with Black Hair" from 1911 and "Portrait of a Man" from 1917 have both been safely returned over a century later to their rightful owners -- the family of Fritz Grunbaum, an Austrian-Jewish cabaret performer who had the works of art in his collection before they were stolen by the Nazis.
"Today, you have shown the very moral courage in taking action. History will remember you for this," said Paul Reif, Grunbaum's great-great nephew.
Reif stood alongside his father, Timothy, Grunbaum's great nephew.
Grunbaum was captured by the Nazis in 1938 and had these pieces, along with at least 80 others by the same artist, in his collection.
The Manhattan district attorney's antiquities trafficking unit seized the pieces from art galleries along with eight others last September.
"We can never forget the horror experienced by Mr. Grunbaum and the millions of other Jewish victims of the Holocaust, and these pieces provide an important lens in which to tell their story," District Attorney Alvin Bragg said.
The Reifs saw these works of art in person for the first time Friday.
"Girl with Black Hair" is valued at approximately $1.5 million, and "Portrait of a Man" is valued at approximately $1 million.
When they're auctioned off, proceeds from these pieces and the others returned will go towards underrepresented artists as a way to continue Grunbaum's legacy.
"I would just offer my words of admiration and thanks for setting an example for me to follow as an artist," Paul Reif said.
Efforts are underway to return one more piece that's currently at the Art Institute of Chicago, and oral arguments for that take place April 3.