IFAR Journal
Volume 8, No. 1
2005
A Look Back and Forward on Holocaust-Era Art Looting and Restitution Issues
— Lynn H. Nicholas
An edited transcript and Q&A from an IFAR Evening, September 29, 2005, on the history and origins of Holocaust-era art looting and restitution issues as well as more contemporary concerns. Nicholas is the author of the pioneering book on the subject, The Rape of Europa.
The New FBI Art Crime Team
— The Editor
The following is an edited transcript of three talks and Q&A from an IFAR Evening, June 8, 2005.
The Art Crime Team: An Overview
— Robert K. Wittman
Wittman, head of the national team recently set up by the FBI to coordinate information, investigation, and prosecution of art crimes—fraud and theft—describes the overall operation and some recent cases.
FBI Art Crime Team: New York and the Northeast Region
— Johanna M. Loonie
Loonie, a member of the team covering New York and the northeast, discusses the Basquiat fakes case and others.
FBI Art Crime Team: The Legal Perspective
— Jane A. Levine
Levine, a prosecutor from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in New York, who serves as a liaison to the team, discusses the legal issues, particularly the case of the marble wall panel for the tomb of Wang Chuzhi.
News and Updates: Sting Operation Recovers Stockholm’s Stolen Rembrandt
— Sharon Flescher
The final painting, a Rembrandt Self Portrait, stolen in a December 2000 break-in at the National Museum of Fine Arts, Stockholm, was recovered in a sting operation in Copenhagen. The story gives details of the operation.
News and Updates: The Painting is Real, The Name is Not
— Sharon Flescher
A painting by natural life painter Henry McDaniel was spotted on a magazine cover with another artist’s (John Whorf) signature in an attempt to inflate its value. The forgery was spotted by McDaniel himself and the signature has been rectified.
News and Updates: Italian Antiquities Trial – Get Ready for a Long Process
— Sharon Flescher
Trial of Marion True (see Vol. 7, No. 3/4, 2004/2005) continues in Rome. Story discusses the trial process.
Book Review: Recent Publications Regarding the Materials, Techniques, and Conservation of Old Master and 19th-Century Paintings – An Update
— Joyce Hill Stoner
Stoner, a paintings conservator, discusses six earlier recommended readings and four new books on conservation, including the Art in the Making series and Rembrandt:The Painter and his Work.
Stolen Art Alert
Thefts include: Four pieces stolen in January 1979 from a private residence in Illinois and replaced with copies: Georges Braque, Studio Interior; Georges Rouault, Flight into Egypt; Maurice Utrillo, Le Cercle Catholique de Sacre-Coeur and Rue de Montcenis-Montmartre; Childe Hassam, Marine Nocturne with Boat and Marine Sunset (stolen from a New York gallery storage area in May 2005); Alexander Calder, Little Roxbury.
Recoveries
Recoveries include: Millet, Portrait of an Anonymous Man; Renoir, Young Parisian; Rembrandt, Self-Portrait, 1630 (all recovered September 2005); Samuel (Sam) Colman, American Hudson, 1883; Goya, Count Ugolino. Jewelry recoveries include items once owned by Elvis Presley, stolen from the Elvis-A-Rama Museum in Las Vegas in March 2004 and were recovered in November 2005; “EAP” ID Bracelet, c. 1971; Star Ru; Diamond Ring, c.1975; “Elvis” Gold and Diamond Medallion, c.1973; “EP” Diamond Pendant and Chain, c.1975; Initial “E” Humes High School Ring, c.1953; Louisiana Hayride “E. Presley Day” Ring.
