Jonathan Petropoulos
Jonathan Petropoulos(born January 10, 1961) is an American historian who writes aboutNational Socialismand, in particular, the fate ofart lootedduringWorld War II.He is John V. Croul Professor of European History atClaremont McKenna CollegeinClaremont, California.[1]Before his 1999 appointment to Claremont McKenna College, Petropoulos taught atLoyola College in Maryland.[2]
Biography
[edit]From 1998 to 2000, Petropoulos served as Research Director for the Presidential Advisory Commission on Holocaust Assets, chaired byEdgar Bronfman, Sr.[3]Since 2000, Petropoulos has served as an expert witness in several legal cases concerning Nazi-looted assets, includingAltmann v. Austria(six paintings byKlimt,includingPortrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer I),[4]Cassirer v.Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum(painting byPissarro),Kannv.Wildenstein(medieval manuscripts), andRosner et al. v. U.S.A.(theHungarian Gold Traincase).[2]
Petropoulos was featured inThe Rape of Europa,a 2006 documentary on Nazi art looting.[5]He is the author of four books:Art as Politics in the Third Reich(1996),[6]The Faustian Bargain(2000),[7]Royals and the Reich(2006)[8]andArtists Under Hitler: Collaboration and Survival in Nazi Germany(2014). With John Roth, he is the co-editor ofGray Zones: Ambiguity and Compromise in the Holocaust and Aftermath(2005).[9]
In April 2008, Petropoulos resigned his position as director of Claremont McKenna College's Center for the Study of the Holocaust, Genocide and Human Rights amidst controversy over the failed restitution of aPissarropainting looted by theNazisin 1938.[1][10][11]The London-basedArt Loss Registeremployed Petropoulos because of his acquaintance withBruno Lohse,a notorious Nazi art looter who died in 2007.[12]The looted Pissarro,Le Quai Malaquais, Printemps,was discovered by Swiss investigators in May 2007 in a secret safe controlled by Lohse in Zurich, Switzerland.[1][10][11]After its seizure by Swiss authorities, the painting was independently restituted to an heir ofGottfried Bermann Fischerlater in 2007 by aLiechtensteincourt,[13]and ultimately auctioned byChristie'sin New York for $1,850,000 ($2,154,000 with premium) on November 3, 2009.[14][15]
Following a review, a March 2008 Claremont McKenna College statement said the professor "adhered to applicable contractual and legal obligations" in attempting to arrange return of the painting.[1]
Books
[edit]- Goering's Man in Paris:The Story of a Nazi Art Plunderer and His World.ISBN 9780300251920
- Artists Under Hitler:Collaboration and Survival in Nazi Germany.ISBN9780300197471
- The Faustian Bargain: The Art World in Nazi Germany.ISBN978-0195129649
- Art as Politics in the Third Reich.ISBN978-0807848098
- Royals and the Reich. Von Hessen Nazi: The Princes von Hessen in Nazi Germany.ISBN978-0199203772
References
[edit]- ^abcdBoehm, Mike (2008-04-15)."Prof ensnared in case of Pissarro looted by Nazis".Los Angeles Times.Retrieved2008-07-27.
- ^ab"Jonathan Petropouloscurriculum vitae"(PDF).Claremont McKenna College.June 2006. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 2011-06-06.Retrieved29 Dec2008.
- ^Blumenthal, Ralph (2003-03-03)."Panel on Nazi Art Theft Fell Short, Experts Say".New York Times.Retrieved2008-07-27.
- ^Petropolous, Jonathan (July 2005)."Report of Professor Jonathan Petropoulos, Claremont McKenna College"(PDF).Burris, Schoenberg & Walden, LLP.
- ^"Professor Petropoulos Featured in Documentary About Nazi Art Thefts".Claremont McKenna College.2007-10-18. Archived fromthe originalon 2008-01-23.Retrieved2008-07-27.
- ^Petropoulos, Jonathan.Art As Politics in the Third Reich,University of North Carolina Press, 1999.ISBN0-8078-4809-3
- ^Petropoulos, Jonathan.The Faustian Bargain: The Art World in Nazi Germany,Oxford University Press, 2000.ISBN0-19-512964-4
- ^Petropoulos, Jonathan.Royals and the Reich,Oxford University Press, 2006.ISBN0-19-516133-5
- ^Petropoulos, Jonathan and Roth, John, editors.Gray Zones: Ambiguity and Compromise in the Holocaust and Aftermath,Berghahn Books, 2005.ISBN1-84545-302-6
- ^abKoldehoff, Stefan (Summer 2007)."Pissarro Lost and Found"(PDF).ARTnews.Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 2011-07-16.Retrieved2008-07-27.
- ^abHickley, Catherine (2007-06-06)."Nazi-Looted Pissarro in Zurich Bank Pits Heiress Against Dealer".Bloomberg News.Retrieved2008-07-27.
- ^Fletcher, Rachel (2008-03-17)."Fee row over found Pissarro".Jewish Chronicle.Archived fromthe originalon 2009-03-12.Retrieved2008-09-28.
- ^Hickley, Catherine (2009-06-02)."Gestapo-Looted Pissarro Seized in Swiss Safe Goes on Auction".Bloomberg News.Retrieved2009-06-05.
- ^"Christie's auction results for November 3, 2009: Camille Pissarro (1830-1903)Le Quai Malaquais et l'Institut".Christie's.2009-11-03.Retrieved2009-11-25.
- ^Tully, Judd (2009-11-03)."Season Opens Softly at Christie's".ARTINFO.Retrieved2009-11-25.
