US law grants immunity for temporary art loans, enabling Hermitage exhibition in Houston

In one of its final acts, the Obama administration signed a law granting immunity from US jurisdiction for temporary exhibitions of art and cultural objects on loan. The measure allows the planned exhibition of Hermitage treasures in Houston to proceed, despite tensions between Obama and Putin that recently led to the expulsion of 35 Russian officials. The law has drawn criticism from supporters of the Holocaust Art Restitution Project, who argue it could facilitate retention of art looted during the Nazi era, the Cuban Revolution, or the Bolshevik Revolution. Many artworks of dubious provenance are under investigation or subject to claims. Conversely, the law has been praised for enabling art loans from countries with which the US previously had no such agreements. Hermitage director Mikhail Piotrovsky supports the opening. Russia had not lent works to the US since 2011, after a US judge ordered the return of a collection of books to a Brooklyn Jewish community.