RSS Feed
April 19th, 2012 
FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda
The man amassed a large collection of paintings that he displayed at his home
in Paris. But he died of natural causes a few weeks before the Nazis stormed
into France in 1940, which forced members of his family to flee the country.
The work is believed to have been among more than 70 paintings from Gentili di
Giuseppe’s collection auctioned by the French Vichy government in 1941,
court records indicate. But members of the family who fled the occupation
have said the sale was illegal and had sought the painting’s return.
Court records indicate that some of the paintings auctioned off were allegedly
bought by “straw” purchasers on behalf of Nazi officials.
The famed Pinacoteca di Brera museum in Milan, which is owned by the Italian
government, acquired the Romanino painting in 1998 but had refused to return
it to the family.
Salem said Wednesday that a Christie’s auction house employee who visited the
Milan museum last year saw that painting had been lent out and called him.
That triggered an investigation that involved Interpol, the US Immigration
and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations and the US
Attorney’s office.
The painting was one of some 50 works lent to the Mary Brogan Museum of Art
Science in Tallahassee for an exhibit. The museum, which had been struggling
financially, has since paused daily operations involving the general public.
Last September, US Attorney Pamela Marsh ordered the Brogan museum to hold the
painting instead of returning it to Italy, saying the federal government
believed it rightfully belonged to the man’s family.
A judge subsequently granted Ms Marsh’s request for agents to seize the
painting and it was taken by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents
and held at an undisclosed location.
A federal judge in February ordered the return of the painting to the family
after no one else came forward to dispute its ownership. The Milan museum
and the Italian government have declined past requests for comments.
Marsh said that the quick resolution was somewhat unexpected, noting other
ownership disputes have dragged on for years.
“This result happened only because people were courageous and willing to
step up and do what they knew was right and good,” Ms Marsh said.
The direct descendants of Gentili di Giuseppe fled to Canada and the US during
World War II, although other family members died in concentration camps.
Salem said there are now six living heirs and that proceeds from the sale
will be divided among them.
A lawyer in France who represented the family has said the heirs have managed
to recover 20 paintings in the past 15 years, but there are at least 55
paintings collected by their ancestor that they are still seeking.
“I think it will be taken up by my children and my grandchildren,”
Salem said.
Source: agencies
Views: 0
Posted in 
Tags: 
