Munich Museum returns looted Lesser Ury Painting to Jewish Heirs
The Pinakotheken art museums in Munich are returning a looted painting to its rightful owners. The work in question, Interior with Children (The Siblings), was painted by the Jewish artist Lesser Ury (1861–1931) and is being restituted to the heirs of Berlin banker Curt Goldschmidt.
Goldschmidt’s bank was forced into bankruptcy due to National Socialist persecution. Consequently, the Jewish family's assets—including the painting, then valued at 800 Reichsmarks—were auctioned off by a bankruptcy trustee.
Goldschmidt fled to Paris in 1937, where he lived in hiding during the German occupation. He passed away in Paris on March 31, 1947.
"Curt Goldschmidt's fate is representative of many Jewish collectors and patrons," stated Bavaria's Minister of Art, Markus Blume. "Nazi persecution robbed him of his fortune and his art collection; he was only able to save his life by fleeing."
The painting’s exact path after the initial auction remains unclear. However, records from the Bavarian State Painting Collections show it appeared at a Cologne auction house in 1940, explicitly marked as originating from "non-Aryan ownership." Its whereabouts thereafter were unknown until 1972, when the Bavarian State Painting Collections purchased the work.
The museum is now returning the piece to the Goldschmidt family, who expressed their gratitude for the efforts of both the Bavarian State Painting Collections and the Free State of Bavaria.
Lesser Ury was a central figure in the German art scene, best known as a chronicler of Berlin’s street and coffee house culture, as well as for his atmospheric, moody landscape paintings. This restitution serves as a vital testament to the rich Jewish contribution to art and collecting in the early 20th century.