Masterpiece returns 60 yrs after Nazi confiscation.
“Wilted Sunflowers” – an oil
painting Masterpiece by Egon
Schiele that was seized from the Grunwald
family by the
Nazis was recovered recently. The masterpiece was painted
in 1914 and was thereafter acquired by Karl Grunwald, an
Austrian collector and art dealer based in Vienna. It will
now be the highlight of sale at Christie’s, London on 20th
June 2006 where it may sell for minimum 60 million pound
sterling.
The Grunwald family, two generations down the line did not
forget the “Wilted Sunflowers” and they
finally stood in
awe in front of the painting after it reemerged, by chance,
when a private
owner got in touch with Christie’s
auctioneers for an evaluation. Unusually, the anonymous
owner immediately handed it over to be returned to the
actual owners.
Cory Pollack, Karl’s granddaughter flew with her family
from America to London on 22nd April 2006. She announced
that she was absolutely thrilled to rediscover the missing
masterpiece. She explained that her father Frederic
Grunwald exhorted them not to forget the
Sunflowers even
from his deathbed two years ago. Now that the piece of art
has been restored to them, the biggest fear of the Grunwald
family that the painting might have been destroyed or lost
forever was finally dispelled.
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