Mondrian heirs claim works at Kaiser Wilhelm Museum, sparking provenance dispute

The heirs of Piet Mondrian have launched a legal claim against the Kaiser Wilhelm Museum in Krefeld, Germany, over several works by the artist. The museum asserts the pieces were gifted, but the heirs question why Mondrian would donate during a period of financial hardship and why the works were not inventoried. The heirs have hired lawyer Gunnar Schnabel and art historian Monika Tatzkow, joined by former German culture minister Michael Naumann. Investigations trace the works back to 1920, with a 1929 exhibition in Frankfurt called The Chair featuring nineteen Mondrians. That same year, curator Max Creutz allegedly requested loans for a project at the Krefeld museum. At least eight works were reportedly lent, according to a 2010 email from curator Sabine Röder and art historian Walter Grasskamp. During World War II, Mondrian fled to New York, where he died. In the 1950s, director Paul Wember claimed to have found eight Mondrians under mysterious circumstances; four were sold to acquire neoclassical works, and the remaining four were first officially inventoried. Sally Yerkovich, a museum ethics professor at Columbia University, told the New York Times that museums should research provenance and publish unclear findings.