BERN.- The Stiftung Kunstmuseum Bern announced a significant consolidation and expansion of its principles for addressing Nazi-looted art. Simultaneously, the museum revealed its decision to return Alfred Sisley's painting Le Chemin des Bois à Ville-d'Avray (1879) to the heirs of Carl Sachs, a victim of Nazi persecution.


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The museum's newly defined position on handling Nazi-persecution-related art losses is outlined in a dedicated basic document, emphasizing clarity and transparency. This refined approach extends to both the museum's existing collection and the Cornelius Gurlitt bequest.

In the case of the Sisley painting, which entered the museum's collection in 1994 as a bequest, provenance research revealed "anomalies" connected to its sale in Switzerland in September 1940. Carl Sachs (1858-1943), a merchant and collector, fled to Switzerland with his wife in February 1939 due to Nazi persecution; other family members died in concentration camps. The sale to art dealer Theodor Fischer was evidently motivated by the need for livelihood and to secure residence rights. The Stiftung Kunstmuseum Bern's Board of Trustees, after comprehensive appraisal, decided to relinquish ownership of the painting. An amicable solution will now be worked out with the heirs of both Carl Sachs and the testator. The museum stressed that this decision doesn't set a legal precedent for similar future cases.


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New Principles for Addressing Nazi-Persecution-Related Losses

Since accepting the Gurlitt legacy in 2014, the Stiftung Kunstmuseum Bern has developed a robust framework for restitution decisions. The updated principles, known as the Berner Ampel 2025 (Bern Traffic Light 2025), aim to ensure consistent, well-founded, and transparent decision-making.

Key elements of these principles include:

• Broad Definition of "Nazi-Persecution-Related Loss": To encompass various scenarios, from direct confiscation to sales under duress, the museum uses this broader term. This includes transfers of ownership in third countries where direct seizure might not have occurred, acknowledging the subjective motives of persecuted individuals forced to sell assets.

• Addressing Provenance Gaps: Recognizing that provenance gaps between 1933 and 1945 are common, the museum states it won't passively protect the status quo of current ownership. Instead, it will make decisions based on "relative probabilities" and apply a "factual presumption in favor of the victims" in uncertain situations, unless other scenarios are more likely. This approach necessitates "extended contextual research."

• Losses Outside the Nazi Sphere of Influence: The museum's principles now explicitly address disposals by victims of Nazi persecution in third countries. It deems the subjective motive for the sale as paramount, regardless of whether objective threats existed in the third country. Such transactions will be scrutinized for fairness and justice, particularly regarding negotiation situations, price, and contract execution.

The Berner Ampel 2025 categorizes works based on their provenance status, dictating specific actions:

• Green: These are works proven or highly unlikely to be Nazi-looted. For losses outside the Nazi sphere, it means the purchaser behaved correctly, not exploiting the seller's difficult situation. The museum will retain these works.

• Yellow-Green: Here, provenance between 1933-1945 isn't conclusively clear, but there's no evidence or indication of Nazi-looted art. For external losses, there are no suspicious circumstances regarding the acquirer's behavior. The museum will retain these works, though new findings remain possible.

• Yellow-Red: Provenance between 1933-1945 is unclear, with indications or suspicious circumstances of Nazi-looted art. For external losses, there are indications of improper behavior by the acquirer who may have exploited the seller's situation. In these cases, the museum will seek a just and fair solution in dialogue with descendants, with the handover of the work expressly not excluded.

• Red: These are works proven or highly likely to be Nazi-looted. For external losses, the acquirer demonstrably exploited the seller's difficult personal and negotiating situation. The museum will restitute these works.

The museum emphasizes its commitment to finding "just and fair solutions" even for cases in the "Yellow-Red" category, opting for active amicable solutions over awaiting clearer findings.

"By consolidating and publishing our position, we also want to contribute to the discussion," stated Dr. Marcel Brülhart, Member of the Board of Trustees. "Professional and careful provenance research is the basis of any solution, but without a transparent approach there will be no comprehensible and pacifying solutions."

Dr. Nina Zimmer, Director Kunstmuseum Bern - Zentrum Paul Klee, added, "With the basic paper, we have developed a consistent evaluation framework that helps us to make decisions about works of art in our collection."

Upcoming Decisions and Research

The Stiftung Kunstmuseum Bern is preparing decisions on other works from its collection, including Max Slevogt's Palatinate Landscape (1930). Additionally, decisions are pending for several works from the Cornelius Gurlitt bequest, such as Honoré Daumier's Don Quixote and Sancho Panza (around 1865) and multiple pieces by Pierre Auguste Renoir.

Further research and a search for potential rights holders are ongoing for Henri Matisse's Les anémones (1923) and Ernst Ludwig Kirchner's Dunes and sea, Fehmarn (1913) from the Kunstmuseum Bern collection. The museum is also addressing a claim by the heirs of Dr. Fritz Salo Glaser concerning 13 works from the Cornelius Gurlitt bequest by artists including Hans Christoph, Conrad Felixmüller, and Otto Griebel.



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