Egon Schiele's "Russian War Prisoner" stays at Art Institute of Chicago, for now
A New York judge ruled recently that Art Institute of Chicago has to surrender a hotly contested artwork that the Nazis allegedly looted, but an appellate judge issued an emergency stay this week, allowing the artwork to stay in Chicago, for now.
Catch up quick: Fritz Grünbaum was a Jewish Austrian cabaret singer and art collector who had dozens of works by Egon Schiele, including a piece called "Russian War Prisoner."
Grünbaum was murdered at the Dachau concentration camp in Germany, and the Manhattan District Attorney's office alleges Nazis stole his art collection.
But AIC says Grünbaum's sister-in-law inherited the collection, and "Russian War Prisoner" was sold to a series of galleries before the museum purchased it in 1966.
What they're saying: "There is significant evidence that demonstrates this work was not looted and previous courts have found that evidence to be credible," museum spokesperson Megan Michienzi told Axios in a statement. "We have been granted a stay, allowing the work to remain in our custody while we continue exploring our options for appeal."
Zoom in: "Russian War Prisoner" is not currently on display at the museum and is estimated to be worth about $1.25 million.
Zoom out: Several museums, including the Museum of Modern Art and Carnegie Museum of Art, as well as private collectors, have returned Schiele works to Grünbaum's heirs after the DA's office tracked them down.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
28 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Jerusalem marks Pride 10 years after murder of teenage marcher
Thousands of Israelis took to the streets under a heavy police presence for Jerusalem's annual Pride march Thursday, a decade after the murder of a teenager by a Jewish extremist during the same event. The fatal stabbing of 16-year-old Shira Banki on July 30 that year, in an attack that also wounded six others, prompted police to step up their surveillance of Pride festivities in Jerusalem in the years that followed. Thursday's march snaked through central Jerusalem, with participants carrying rainbow flags, placards and balloons, while a small group of anti-LGBT counter-protesters were also permitted to gather in a contained space nearby. "We mark 10 years since Shira Banki was murdered in Pride... which means that the Pride today is dedicated in her honour," Hadass Bloemendal, chairperson of the Jerusalem Open House for Pride and Tolerance, told AFP. Nadav Haruvi, Banki's former teacher, said it was especially important for him to come this year. "I come here every year, but this is actually the first time we're coming in an organised way as teachers from the school. And we understood that after a decade, we want to create a strong tradition for future generations of teachers," he said. Israeli President Isaac Herzog also attended the march, a statement from his office said, making him the first president to join the event since Banki's murder. "We came here to remember and remind, to honour the memory of a beautiful young Israeli girl who came to do good, Shira Banki, of blessed memory, who was murdered here 10 years ago," Herzog said, standing on the spot where Banki was killed. "Her only goal was to do good and spread light in the world," he said. "We must recognise a clear and unequivocal social principle: There is no place for violence, under any circumstances. There is no dialogue with violence. We will not accept violence in our society." Banki's killer had been freed from prison just weeks before the 2015 attack, having completed a sentence for a prior attack at the Pride march that wounded three people. He was later sentenced to life in prison for her murder. Opposition leader Yair Lapid joined the marchers on Thursday, telling journalists that "liberal Israel is here and here to stay, and we stand by our friends in the LGBTQ community, and we are marching together in favour of rights for everyone". The city has held an annual Pride march since 2002, often accompanied by counter-protests by far-right, religious groups. Israel has a large and influential LGBTQ community, despite homosexuality being rejected by conservative religious parties. While Israel does not register same-sex marriages itself, it recognises those conducted overseas. mib/reg/smw/dv
Yahoo
28 minutes ago
- Yahoo
‘I can't think of anyone who deserved this less': Holocaust survivor among Boulder attack victims
DENVER (KDVR) — A University of Denver educator is sharing more about one of the victims in Sunday's attack in Boulder of Israeli hostage supporters, a Holocaust survivor. The woman in her 80s, is one of the now 15 victims injured in Sunday's attack in which a man is alleged to have firebombed a group from Run for Their Lives demonstrating peacefully advocating for the release of the hostages in Gaza. Boulder Terror Attack: Continuing coverage Director of the Center for Judaic Studies at DU, Adam Rovner spoke with FOX31's Carly Moore and said he personally knows the woman and actually uses her story to educate students about the Holocaust. Rovner said he called her after hearing about the attack, knowing she would be at the demonstration, and she was on her way to the hospital. 'So, she was obviously very flustered but was also extremely lucid. We're talking about a woman in her, you know, late 80s,' Rovner said. 'Her main response was not fear, but anger, anger that we've reached this stage in American discourse where people can violently attack others merely because they have a different view.' He said the woman and her family fled antisemitism in Hungary and jumped from country to country, until eventually ending up in Boulder in 2005. He calls her a passionate advocate for immigration and education. 'She's a very humane, understanding person of other people's perspectives and the fact that she was firebombed by an idealistic, self-righteous lunatic is, obviously, very upsetting,' said Rovner. 'So, she is an interfaith, multilingual, and cosmopolitan, lovely woman, and I can't think of anyone who deserved this less.' Boulder County Courthouse lit blue for Jewish victims, against antisemitism Rovner said now is not the time to hide who you are, he encourages people to continue to stand up for what they believe, though he said he is grief-stricken by the attack. 'As an academic, I can tell you that what we're doing is we are raising money to hire an endowed chair in Holocaust and Antisemitism Studies. I think that it's very important to reframe Holocaust education,' Rovner said. 'So, we need to take a new tack and the approach that is leading the innovation in education now is to go back and look at the history of antisemitism, look at contemporary antisemitism, and try to explain contemporary manifestations and historical lead ups to the Holocaust, to try to connect what happened then and there with here and now.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Newsweek
4 hours ago
- Newsweek
Andrew Cuomo's Chances of Winning New York Mayoral Race
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has a strong chance of winning the New York mayor primary, latest betting odds show. Cuomo's odds of success stand at 82 percent while his nearest rival, Zohran Mamdani, is on 19 percent, according to Polymarket, at the time of publishing. Why It Matters Cuomo is standing in the primaries for New York City mayor, returning to public life after he resigned as New York Governor in 2021 amid the threat of impeachment over sexual misconduct allegations. Cuomo has always denied the accusations and no charges were ever brought against him. Whoever wins the Democratic primary will likely win the race, as New York City is reliably Democratic. Andrew Cuomo speaks during a Democratic mayoral primary debate, Wednesday, June 4, 2025, in New York. Andrew Cuomo speaks during a Democratic mayoral primary debate, Wednesday, June 4, 2025, in New York. AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura, Pool The election uses ranked-choice ballots, meaning voters select up to five candidates in order of preference. What To Know On Wednesday, nine Democratic candidates faced off in a two-hour debate. The latest odds measure how prospective voters responded to the debate. They show that Cuomo had a slight dip from his 84 percent odds of victory before the debate, but that overall the debate didn't affect voting behavior to a large extent. Polls have shown Cuomo has a strong lead in the run up to the election. A May Emerson College Polling/PIX11/The Hill survey of 1,000 registered voters, found that 35 percent backed Cuomo on the first round of the ranked-choice ballot, while Mamdani was favored by 23 percent. According to a Marist Poll conducted between May 1 and 8 among 3,383 likely Democratic primary voters, Cuomo was the first choice of 37 percent of respondents, including those who were undecided but leaning toward a candidate. What People Are Saying William F. Hall, an adjunct professor of political science and business at Webster University in St. Louis, Missouri told Newsweek: "Several important factors, including the huge name recognition advantage and extensive political experience, coupled with the significant challenges that any Muslim candidate would face, including Mamdani as a Muslim American running for public office in a major American city populated with an extensive Jewish constituency and heavily sympathetic Jewish leaning political environment, the odds for his chances for success in the New York City Mayoral race, would appear to be extremely daunting and highly unlikely. "Despite several of Cuomo's negative issues that have blemished his career, on balance, there nonetheless still does appear to be a strong viable window for victory for Cuomo, because of the many positive successes he achieved while in public office in the past and especially, in light of the current difficulties experienced in the New York City's Mayors office, under the incumbent." Cuomo during the debate: "I know how to deal with Donald Trump because I've dealt with him before. We fought on a daily basis through COVID. And I won many of those battles ... So he can be beaten, but he has to know that he's up against an adversary who can actually beat him." Queens assemblyman and democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani, during the debate: "The difference between myself and Andrew Cuomo is that my campaign is not funded by the very billionaires who put Donald Trump in D.C." What Happens Next The Democratic primary takes place on 24 June. The general mayoral election takes place on 4 November. Meanwhile, Cuomo is facing another legal issue as House Oversight Chair James Comer requested that the Department of Justice (DOJ) investigate and potentially prosecute him for allegedly lying to Congress about New York State's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic in nursing homes. Cuomo's spokesperson Rich Azzopardi told Politico the claims were "nonsense," adding: "As the DOJ constantly reminds people, this kind of transparent attempt at election interference and lawfare violates their own policies."
