The Restitutions Committee has advised Rotterdam City Council to restitute the drawing Girl Writing at a Table by Max Liebermann to the heirs of Max and Martha Liebermann.
The drawing has been part of the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen Collection since 1959 and is currently the property of Rotterdam City Council.

The investigation by the Restitution Expertise Centre (ECR) revealed that during his lifetime, the artist Max Liebermann kept many of his own drawings. The sheet in question bears an estate stamp. This indicates that the drawing was still in Max Liebermann’s possession when he died in 1935.
The Committee established that Martha Liebermann suffered under the Nazi regime and had little money as a result of anti-Jewish measures.
At some point the work was acquired by the art historian Max Friedländer. It has not become clear how the drawing came into his possession. No indications were found that the drawing was offered for sale on the art market between 1935 and 1958, the year in which Friedländer died. Similarly, no documentation was found showing that Friedländer obtained the drawing on a personal basis from Liebermann’s descendants. The drawing was purchased at a sale of items from Friedländer’s estate in 1959 by Rotterdam City Council for the Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen Collection.

In accordance with the Restitutions Committee’s assessment framework, the Committee had first of all to assess whether it is highly likely that the restitution applicant is the original owner or their legal successor pursuant to inheritance law. In this case the Committee established that the applicants are the legal successors pursuant to inheritance law of Max and Martha Liebermann.
Consideration then needed to be given to the question of whether the original owner lost possession of the object involuntarily. If the original owner was a private individual who belonged to a persecuted population group, involuntary loss of possession is assumed if it took place in Germany (which is the case here) after 30 January 1933, unless there is express evidence to the contrary. The Committee concluded that no such evidence emerged in this case.

The Restitutions Committee has recommended restitution. Prior to the procedure, Rotterdam City Council pledged to accept the result of this binding opinion and now needs to restitute the drawing to the heirs of Max and Martha Liebermann.

As a rule, restitution applications are submitted by the descendants of art collectors and art dealers. This is the first case of an application being submitted by the heirs of the maker of the artwork in question.

Relevant recommendation and summary: Drawing Girl Writing at a Table by Max Liebermann