Wooing the Public to Recover Art – here is a very interesting story about one family’s attempt to recover a John Constable that was looted from their family during the war. The work is in the Musée des Beaux-Arts in La Chaux-de-Fonds and a plaque below the painting acknowledges the fact that the painting was looted. So you might ask: if they know it was ‘stolen’ then why not give it back? Well, here is the museum’s argument: they accepted the work in good faith from the collectors who donated it and under Swiss law a buyer of stolen goods is protected if they did not know the work was stolen. WOW!
It will be interesting to see if the family can get enough signatures (2500) in order to bring this issue before the town’s elected officials. If they succeed, then hopefully they can force them to put the issue to a community-wide vote.
John Constable
“Dedham From Langham,”