The controversial art trove of Cornelius Gurlitt is apparently even bigger than thought until now. A spokesman for the art dealer Hildebrand Gurlitt’s son said in his house in Salzburg more than 60 additional paintings, including a Picasso, had been examined and put in safe storage.
“On the orders of Cornelius Gurlitt, it will now be investigated if there is a suspicion that they were looted by the Nazis,” he said. “At first glance, there are no indications that this is the case.”
According to German media reports the action in Salzburg was ordered by Christoph Edel, who has acted as Gurlitt’s custodian since late last year, in order to protect the art works from theft.
The World Jewish Congress has called for the establishment of a new commission, made up of German and foreign experts, that would resolve once and for all the issue of art looted from Jews by the Nazis. Some of these works, WJC President Ronald Lauder said, still hang in German museums and even government offices. In addition, Lauder called on Germany to abandon any statute of limitations on returning art to the heirs of Jewish collectors whose works were either stolen by the Nazis or sold off very cheaply under duress.