Schiele's "Russian War Prisoner" stays at Art Institute of Chicago for now, a Judge decides

On 23 April, New York Supreme Court Judge Althea Drysdale delivered a 79-page ruling, declaring Schiele’s 1916 Russian War Prisoner “stolen property for the last 86 years”—ever since the Nazis seized it from Grünbaum, who was later murdered at Dachau in 1941. The Art Institute of Chicago (AIC) acquired the work in 1966 and displayed it for decades until it was impounded in 2023 under a warrant signed by Drysdale. Valued at $1.25 million, the drawing has since been at the centre of fierce restitution efforts.

The museum has long maintained that Grünbaum’s sister-in-law, Mathilde Lukacs, legally sold the piece in the 1950s. But Drysdale dismissed this claim, noting that the storage facility holding Grünbaum’s collection was Nazi-controlled, casting doubt on any lawful transfer. She also criticised the AIC for relying on the testimony of Eberhard Kornfeld, a dealer whose invoices were later exposed as forgeries—some even misspelling Lukacs’ name.

The AIC has contested the Manhattan DA’s jurisdiction, but Drysdale ruled that New York’s connection, through Galerie St. Etienne’s prior ownership, was sufficient. While institutions like MoMA and the Carnegie Museum of Art have willingly returned Schiele works to Grünbaum’s heirs, the AIC remained defiant.

An appellate judge issued an emergency stay this week, allowing the artwork to stay in Chicago, for now. In a statement received by ArtDependence AIC says: "The Art Institute has been granted a stay, allowing the work to remain in our custody while we continue exploring our options for appeal."

If the museum appeals the decision to turn over the work, arguments would begin in November.

Main Image: Egon Schiele: Photo Courtrsy Art Institute of Chicago