Robert Graetz (art collector)

Robert Graetz (October 5, 1878 – December 31, 1945 ), was a German Jewish textile industrialist and art collector in Berlin who was deported by the Nazis and died at Auschwitz.[1][2]

## Early life and family

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Born in Berlin on October 5, 1878 into a German Jewish family, Graetz's brother, Hugo, was an art dealer.

Graetz married Bluma Shifra (April 28, 1934-April 18.1940)[3] and had a daughter, Hilda Graetz (Ruschkewitz)[4]

## Entrepreneur

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Graetz's business, Firma für Damenmäntel Glass & Graetz, specialised in women’s coats and suits.[1][5][6]

## Art collection

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Graetz built a collection of around 200 works by artists including Otto Dix, Emil Nolde, Karl Schmidt-Rottluff and Käthe Kollwitz.[5][7]

## Death at Auschwitz

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He remained in Berlin after his two children fled. His company, villa, and art collection were confiscated and he was deported to a Nazi concentration camp in 1942. He died at Auschwitz.[5][2]

## Claims for restitution

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Most of the artworks from Graetz's collection have not been recovered and are listed on the German Lost Art Foundation website.[8][9] In 2011 the German Advisory Commission considered a claim for two paintings by Karl Schmidt-Rottluff at Berlin’s Neue Nationalgalerie.[10] 2019, the German Lost Art Foundation offered funding to help research the missing works. In 2021 the German Advisory Commission rejected a claim for a painting by Lovis Corith.[11][12] In 2023, Christie's brokered a settlement for Max Pechstein's Still Life With a Cup, which Graetz's daughter Hilda sold as a refugee in South Africa. Pechstein's granddaughter provided sales records to help identify the painting[5] In December 2023, the family filed a claim against the Hamburger Kunsthalle for the restitution of Paula Modersohn-Becker: Girl's Head which the widow of Nazi art dealer Konrad Doebbeke had donated to the museum.[13]

## References

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1. ^ a b "Graetz, Robert | Proveana". www.proveana.de. Retrieved 2023-11-04.
2. ^ a b "Nazi Loot Panel Weighs Artwork Claim by Auschwitz Victim's Heir". www.lootedart.com. Retrieved 2023-11-13.
3. ^ "Graetz, Bluma Shifra | Proveana". www.proveana.de. Retrieved 2023-11-04.
4. ^ "Ruschkewitz, Hilde | Proveana". www.proveana.de. Retrieved 2023-11-04.
5. ^ a b c d "Christie's to auction Pechstein painting after settlement reached with heir". The Art Newspaper - International art news and events. 2023-11-03. Retrieved 2023-11-04.
6. ^ "Firma für Damenmäntel Glass & Graetz | Proveana". www.proveana.de. Retrieved 2023-11-04.
7. ^ Enderlein, Angelika (2014). Der Berliner Kunsthandel in der Weimarer Republik und im NS-Staat: Zum Schicksal der Sammlung Graetz (in German). Akademie Verlag. pp. 158–219\. ISBN 9783050085890. "Die rund 200 Kunstwerke umfassende Sammlung, die Robert Graetz in mehr als einem Jahrzehnt mit viel Sorgfalt und finanziellem Aufwand zusammengetragen hatte, entging wie zahlreiche jüdische Privatsammlungen während der nationalsozialistischen Herrschaft nicht der Zerstörung: Sie wurde durch Fortgaben, Verkäufe und Versteigerung zerstreut"
8. ^ "Bildnis Robert Graetz | Lost Art-Datenbank". www.lostart.de. Retrieved 2023-11-04.
9. ^ "Graetz, Hugo und Robert (540638) Suche | Lost Art-Datenbank". www.lostart.de. Retrieved 2023-11-04.
10. ^ "Berlin Will Return Paintings to Auschwitz Victim's Heir". Bloomberg.com. 2011-11-18. Retrieved 2023-11-04.
11. ^ "Recommendation of the Advisory Commission in the case of the Heirs of Robert Graetz v. Stiftung Stadtmuseum Berlin" (PDF). beratende-kommission.de. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2023-08-10. Retrieved 2023-11-04.
12. ^ "German Nazi loot panel rejects heirs' claim for Lovis Corinth portrait, keeping it in Berlin's Stadtmuseum". The Art Newspaper - International art news and events. 2021-07-23. Retrieved 2023-11-04. "A claim by the heirs of Robert Graetz, a Jewish textiles entrepreneur who died in the Holocaust, for a painting by Lovis Corinth in the collection of Berlin's Stadtmuseum has been rejected by Germany's Advisory Commission for Nazi-looted art. The commission said there was too little evidence that Graetz lost the work due to persecution and that there was a risk that a previous owner might have a stronger claim. The 1907 portrait depicts Alfred Kerr, a prominent Jewish journalist and theatre critic and the father of Judith Kerr, the author of much-loved children's books."
13. ^ "Nazi looted art in the Hamburg Kunsthalle? Why a Jewish family struggles in vain for a picture - ARD | Das Erste". 2024-01-27. Archived from the original on 2024-01-27. Retrieved 2024-01-27.

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