“On behalf of the Polish state, I would like to announce that Kandinsky’s painting “Untitled” – Lot 31, offered today by the Grisebach auction house, is a work of art stolen from the National Museum in Warsaw in 1984. The provenance/provided by the Grisebach auction house History of the painting clearly indicates that the painting was in Polish public gatherings and more importantly the painting has ownership marks indicating its provenance from the National Museum in Warsaw. Accordingly, a sale after the time of theft cannot be considered an act in good faith. The Grisebach auction house was asked by the Polish Ministry of Culture and National Heritage to withdraw the painting from the auction, which is the only correct and moral action in this situation. For this reason, all decisions and actions aimed at selling this painting stolen from Polish public collections deserve strong condemnation. I would also like to inform you that the painting by Wassily Kandinsky has been included in the INTERPOL database of stolen artworks by the Polish side.” (google translate)
Berlin auction house #Grisebach sold Kandinsky’s watercolor for 310,000 euros this evening.
The artwork was stolen from the 🇵🇱National Museum @Muzeum_Narodowe in Warsaw in 1984. (google translate)
3 comments
Wot??? Sue them to hell
Some context:
[https://twitter.com/krol_rp/status/1598345129558949894?cxt=HHwWjICyvambu64sAAAA](https://twitter.com/krol_rp/status/1598345129558949894?cxt=HHwWjICyvambu64sAAAA) – Consul of the Republic of Poland in Berlin
“On behalf of the Polish state, I would like to announce that Kandinsky’s painting “Untitled” – Lot 31, offered today by the Grisebach auction house, is a work of art stolen from the National Museum in Warsaw in 1984. The provenance/provided by the Grisebach auction house History of the painting clearly indicates that the painting was in Polish public gatherings and more importantly the painting has ownership marks indicating its provenance from the National Museum in Warsaw. Accordingly, a sale after the time of theft cannot be considered an act in good faith. The Grisebach auction house was asked by the Polish Ministry of Culture and National Heritage to withdraw the painting from the auction, which is the only correct and moral action in this situation. For this reason, all decisions and actions aimed at selling this painting stolen from Polish public collections deserve strong condemnation. I would also like to inform you that the painting by Wassily Kandinsky has been included in the INTERPOL database of stolen artworks by the Polish side.” (google translate)
same but in Polish:
[https://twitter.com/krol_rp/status/1598340686184685576](https://twitter.com/krol_rp/status/1598340686184685576)
German:
[https://twitter.com/PLinDeutschland/status/1598384323325227008?cxt=HHwWgMDT5dmEza4sAAAA](https://twitter.com/PLinDeutschland/status/1598384323325227008?cxt=HHwWgMDT5dmEza4sAAAA) – Polish Embassy in Germany
Berlin auction house #Grisebach sold Kandinsky’s watercolor for 310,000 euros this evening.
The artwork was stolen from the 🇵🇱National Museum @Muzeum_Narodowe in Warsaw in 1984. (google translate)
Polish:
[https://twitter.com/PiotrGlinski/status/1598383529947271168](https://twitter.com/PiotrGlinski/status/1598383529947271168) – Polish Minister of Culture and National Heritage
“The German auction house acted like a common fence: it sold Kandinsky even though it knew it was stolen from a Polish museum.” (google translate).
mmmm, traditions
(I’m joking)