The lawsuit seeks the return of over 40 artworks with a combined value of over USD 100 million, including masterworks by El Greco, Francisco de Zurbarán, and Lucas Cranach the Elder. The works come from the collection of Baron Mór Lipót Herzog, a passionate Jewish art collector. After the widow of Herzog died in 1940, the collection was passed to her three children, Erzsébet, István, and András. András was sent to a forced labor camp in 1942 and he died on the Russian front in 1943. His daughters, who fled Hungary after their father?s deportation and death, are plaintiffs in the suit.
The heirs reached an agreement with Germany in the spring on the return of paintings from the collection without taking legal action. Michael S. Shuster, the lead attorney in the suit, criticised Hungary for failing to do the same.
?In contrast to Hungary, Germany returned artworks from the Herzog Collection to the Herzog heirs this spring without need for legal action. We had no choice but to bring the Herzog family?s claim before a U.S. court,? he said.
Martha Nierenberg, the daughter of Erzsébet (Herzog) Weiss de Csepel, expressed hope that the lawsuit would restore what was lost to her family and ?held hostage? by the Hungarian government for more than half a century.
Source: Hungarian News Agency (MTI) / Photo: MTI, EPA
