Gurlitt art collection can finally head to Bern

Cornelius Gurlitt, son of one of Hitler’s art dealers, was of sound mind when he bequeathed his extensive art collection to Bern Museum of Fine Arts in 2014, a Munich court has ruled. A cousin had launched an inheritance counter-claim. Bern can now take possession of the collection. “We’re delighted and relieved by the court’s decision,” said Marcel Brülhart from the Bern Museum of Fine Arts, adding that the inheritance had so far cost the museum around CHF1.5 million ($1.46 million). The reclusive Gurlitt, the son of Nazi art dealer Hildebrand Gurlitt, left a will handing the significant collection to Bern’s Museum of Fine Arts when he died aged 81 in April 2014. The collection consists of more than 1,500 paintings, drawings, lithographs, woodcuts and posters by artists including Matisse, Picasso, Renoir and Monet. The museum said it would accept the donation in November 2014, but the decision was controversial for two reasons: it is believed that some of the ...