During the first week of November, two works by Egon Schiele sold at auction—one at Christie’s and one at Sotheby’s. This blog post examines the troubled stories behind these works, the way the two sales unfolded, and what they can teach us about the current state of art restitution efforts.

When it comes to claims involving allegedly looted or stolen art and cultural property, high-profile (and high-stakes) litigation often takes center stage.  But the art world is paying increased attention to the rise of voluntary, negotiated repatriation and restitution of works to claimants.  This option can lead to productive and mutually beneficial dialogues, partnerships, and outcomes; it also requires careful planning and legal advice.

Italy is threatening legal action after the British government refused to return 700 ancient artifacts that were seized from disgraced London art dealer Robin Symes. Maurizio Fiorilli, the Italian state legal counsel overseeing the case, claims that the disputed objects, largely Etruscan sculptures, jewelry, and vases, were excavated illegally and then sold illicitly.

Last year, this blog covered a federal court’s decision involving New York-based ACA Galleries, Inc.’s purchase of a painting purportedly created by artist Milton Avery.  In a recent decision affirming that opinion, the Second Circuit reiterated the warning to galleries and collectors about the importance of completing comprehensive due diligence before purchasing any work of art.

After a long court battle, an ancient Cambodian statue, consigned to Sotheby’s for sale in 2011, will be returned to that country under an agreement signed last week.  The Khmer statue, valued at over $2 million, was pulled from auction because of assertions it had been looted from the Prasat Chen temple site at Koh Ker.

Amid criticism from groups representing Holocaust victims and their heirs and growing international pressure to disclose more information about the cache of art found in the apartment of Cornelius Gurlitt, Germany has announced that it will speed provenance research of the artworks, as well as begin to publish online details about the works.

In September 2010, aboard a train from Switzerland, German customs agents were carrying out a routine check when they approached Cornelius Gurlitt.  The man, who seemed nervous, was in possession of 9,000 euros and was not registered with the police—which is mandatory in Germany.  Officials issued a search warrant for his Munich apartment, expecting to find undeclared euros or evidence of questionable bank accounts.

At the center of one of Germany’s largest restitution claims is the Berlin portion of the Guelph Treasure, a trove of ecclesiastical art, largely comprised of gem-encrusted reliquaries and crosses, dating from the 11th through 15th centuries.   The hoard of precious objects was originally housed in the Braunschweig cathedral, and in 1671 it passed into the hands of the princely House of Guelph.

The once-renowned Salander-O’Reilly Galleries imploded around 2007 after a number of customers and business partners sued owner and art dealer Lawrence B. Salander for allegedly defrauding them.  By the end of 2007, Salander had filed for bankruptcy; by 2010, he was serving a prison term for grand larceny.  The legal fallout from his story, however, continues today—as illustrated by a recent court decision. This case reminds those who buy and sell art that diligence is paramount—no matter how trusted the seller, and no matter how savvy the buyer.

In 1941, Max Liebermann’s landscape masterpiece, Garden in Wansee (1923) was seized by the Einsatzstab Reichsleiter Rosenberg, a Nazi art-confiscation agency, from the collection of Jewish businessman, Max Cassirer.  Recently, the Israel Museum in Jerusalem announced that it had restituted the painting  to Cassirer’s heir.  As per the settlement, the Museum returned the painting to the heir and then re-acquired it, allowing it to remain in the Museum’s collection, accessible to the public.

After months of negotiations between the Metropolitan Museum of Art and Cambodian officials, the Met has decided to return to Cambodia two 10th-century Khmer statues that had been improperly removed from the Koh Ker temple complex and then smuggled out of the country during the 1970s. The two sandstone statues, known as the Kneeling Attendants, had stood prominently at the entrance to the museum’s Southeast Asian galleries since 1994.

In mid-March, the Mexican government demanded that Sotheby’s withdraw fifty-one Pre-Columbian Mexican artifacts from an upcoming sale, stating that they are protected historical pieces that constitute Mexican national property.  Peru, Guatemala, and Costa Rica also voiced their objections to the sale, bringing the total number of contested lots to roughly one third of the total 313 lots.