Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation restitutes works of art from the collection of the great Berlin publisher Rudolf Mosse
Press release from 02/12/2015
The Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation has restituted eight works of art to the heirs of Felicia Lachmann-Mosse. The works were part of the extensive art collection that her father, the Berlin publisher Rudolf Mosse, had built up since the 1880s. The Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation had come across the works during a systematic review of its collections and had begun to identify possible heirs when it was asked by the Mosse Art Restitution Project in 2014 for information about two of these objects. - English version: please find PDF below German text -
Hermann Parzinger, President of the SPK, said: "I am delighted that we were able to reach a fair and equitable solution so quickly in this case thanks to the Foundation's ongoing research. For the time being, the restituted pieces will remain on loan in the relevant museum collections. The man who gave his name to this collection epitomised the liberal Berlin of the early 20th century and in particular the dynamic press landscape of the time like no other. Rudolf Mosse was not only an outstanding publisher, but also a great patron of the arts."
J. Eric Bartko, Director of the Mosse Art Restitution Project: "On behalf of the Mosse Foundation and Rudolf Mosse's heirs, I would like to thank the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation for its willingness to make restitution."
Rudolf Mosse (1843-1920) owned one of the largest and most influential publishing houses in the Weimar Republic. The liberal-conservative businessman published over a hundred specialist journals from 1871 onwards, including the legendary "Berliner Tageblatt", which became the largest liberal daily newspaper in Germany until 1933 and was one of the most widely read German newspapers abroad. Mosse also used his extensive private wealth as a sponsor, benefactor and patron, for example for holiday colonies, workers' homes and an educational home for orphans. After Mosse's death, his son-in-law Hans Lachmann-Mosse (1885-1944) took over the management of the publishing house and his daughter Felicia Lachmann-Mosse (1888-1972) inherited his fortune.
For the National Socialists, the Mosse family was a symbol of the hated "Jewish press". Immediately after coming to power, they were relentlessly persecuted for their Jewish faith and also for their political views. Felicia and Hans Lachmann-Mosse emigrated to the United States via France in the first half of 1933. The publishing house was brought into line and smashed. All of the family's assets were placed under state administration and thus taken away from them. The art collection that Felicia had inherited from her parents Rudolf and Emilie Mosse was largely auctioned off in 1934 at the instigation of the National Socialists, and some of it was probably sold elsewhere. The proceeds were not given to the family.
The Mosse-Palais at Leipziger Platz 15, the family's residence, housed the extensive art collection, including works by Adolph Menzel and Max Liebermann. Further objects were located in Schenkendorf Castle near Mittenwalde (Brandenburg), which served as the family's country residence. The private collection was open to the public on numerous occasions. Several collection catalogues have been published since 1908.
The Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation has restituted eight works from the Mosse Collection:
- Sculpture "Reclining Lion" by August Gaul, 1903 (inv. no. B I 658)
- Roman sarcophagus with depictions of a woman, last quarter / end of the 2nd century AD (inv. no. SK 1881)
- Offering basin, probably 5th dynasty, limestone (inv. no. 27658) and entrails jug, probably 26th dynasty, alabaster (inv. no. 27659)
- 2 lions on square lotus bases, Ch'ein-lung, stone, (inv. no. CH V 12 a/b) and 2 reclining / half-erect greyhounds, firmly attached to plinth, 19th century, marble (no inv. no.)
The Mosse Art Restitution Project was established by Roger Strauch, one of the presidents of the Mosse Foundation, in 2012. It is dedicated to the worldwide search for cultural artefacts from the Rudolf Mosse collection that were confiscated from his heirs by the National Socialists. The project is coordinated by J. Eric Bartko in close cooperation with Martin I. Zankel and John J. Bartko from the US law firm BartkoZankel. In Germany, the project is represented by Peter Raue, Jan Hegemann and Felix Stang (Raue LLP law firm). The main objective of the Mosse Foundation is to promote German-American and German-Jewish relations.