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| Press release RC 1.112 |
The Hague, 2 November 2011
RESTITUTIONS COMMITTEE ISSUES RECOMMENDATION ON MAY COLLECTION
THE HAGUE - The Restitutions Committee recommends rejecting a claim to some 335 art objects from the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. The objects in question formerly belonged to Jewish banker and art collector Robert May.
At the request of the Minister for Education, Culture and Science, the Restitutions Committee investigated an application for the return of the former Robert May collection, which is currently in the Rijksmuseum and consists mainly of porcelain and silver objects. The Committee issued its recommendation on 19 September 2011, concluding that the case was already settled with Robert May after the war.
The Committee's investigation shows that the May collection was confiscated by the Nazi authorities in 1942, and was purchased by the Dutch authorities from the occupying forces in 1944 for the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. During the war, in a gentleman's agreement, May had already declared to the Rijksmuseum that he would support this sale. The proceeds of the sale eventually went to May. In a written declaration to the Rijksmuseum in 1946, May said that he ‘completely agreed' with the sale of his collection to the Dutch state. The Committee regards this statement as ‘one that was made freely to uphold the sale of his collection to the Dutch State during the war,' as a result of which the sale must now be regarded as legitimate. In its recommendation, the Committee advises the State Secretary to reject the claim, which was submitted by one of May's successors. The State Secretary decided to adopt the Committee's recommendation on 26 October 2011.
The Restitutions Committee
Since January 2002, the Advisory Committee on the Assessment of Restitution Applications for Items of Cultural Value and the Second World War has issued 102 recommendations and 130 claims were presented to it. The Committee is chaired by Willibrord Davids.
Click here for the recommendation of 19 September 2011 on restitution case May II (RC 1.112) and click here for the recommendation on the May I restitution case (RC 1.76), which was issued by the Committee on 10 November 2008.
More information
For more information, please contact Evelien Campfens (secretary/rapporteur) on +31 (0)70 376 59 92.