Only four remain in the city collection — the remaining four were sold or bartered by the Kaiser Wilhelm Museum’s postwar director, Paul Wember, in the early 1950s. The heirs staked a claim to all eight paintings based on a research report conducted for them and made public last year. The city argued that it believed the paintings were gifts from Mondrian and then hired two provenance researchers to further investigate. They also agree that in summer 1929, Krefeld was planning an exhibition of international abstract art, including works by Mondrian. The four paintings were first listed in the museum’s inventory in 1954.

Source: International New York Times July 02, 2019 17:09 UTC