SMU MEADOWS MUSEUM DISCOVER OWNING NAZI LOOTED ART

SOUTHERN METHODIST UNIVERSITY'S MEADOW'S MUSEUM, DALLAS, HAS RECENTLY LEARNED THAT THREE OF ITS WELL-KNOWN PAINTINGS WERE AMONG THE MILLIONS OF ARTWORKS STOLEN FROM JEWISH FAMILIES BY THE NAZIS DURING WORLD WAR II. THE FOUNDER OF THE DALLAS-BASED MONUMENTS MEN FOUNDATION FOR THE PRESERVATION OF ART DISCOVERED THE PAINTINGS' CONNECTION TO WORLD WAR PLUNDER WHILE DOING RESEARCH FOR TWO BOOKS. ROBERT EDSEL SAID HE CAME ACROSS A BLACK AND WHITE PHOTO SHOT IN GERMANY IN 1945 THAT SHOWED A PAINTING HE THOUGHT LOOKED 'EERILY LIKE ONE' HE HAD SEEN AT SMU'S MUSEUM. IT WAS THE 'SAINT JUSTA', HALF OF A FAMOUS PAIR OF PAINTINGS BY THE SPANISH ARTIST BARTOLOME ESTEBAN MURILLO. EDSEL LATER SPOTTED ITS COMPANION PIECE, 'SAINT RUFINA', IN ANOTHER PHOTO. 'THEY'RE NOT JUST TREASURES OF CIVILIZATION, BUT THEY'RE REPRESENTATIVE OF FAMILIES WHO LOST THEIR LIVES AND HAD EVERYTHING STOLEN FROM THEM', EDSEL SAID. EDSEL ESTIMATED THAT THE MURILLO PAINTINGS WERE VALUED AT LEAST BETWEEN $10 MILLION TO $15 MILLION FOR THE RARE PAIR, AFTER DISCUSSIONS WITH VARIOUS AUCTION HOUSES. 'THESE ARE TWO OF THE FINEST WORKS OF ART BY THIS ARTIST, ONE OF SPAIN'S MOST IMPORTANT PAINTERS EVER', HE TOLD THE ASSOCIATED PRES IN A RECENT INTERVIEW. EACH OF THE PAINTINGS BORE A NOW TIME FADED NUMBER ON THE BACK OF THEIR WOODEN STRETCHERS. THE NAZIS USED NUMBER CODES TO INVENTORY STOLEN ART, EDSEL SAID. THE R1171 ON THE SANTA JUSTA MEANT THAT IT CAME FROM THE FRENCH ROTHSCHILD COLLECTION AND WAS THE 1,171st ITEM FROM THAT COLLECTION INVENTORIED BY THE NAZIS, ACCORDING TO A STORY ON DALLAS TELEVISION STATION WFAA'S WEBSITE. THE NAZIS STOLE MORE THAN 6,000 ITEMS FROM THE ROTHSCHILD ESTATE, EDSEL SAID. SMU'S MEADOWS MUSEUM HAS HAD THE MURILLO MASTERPIECES FOR 38 YEARS. THE MUSEUM BOUGHT THE PAINTINGS AT A NEW YORK GALLERY IN 1972 AND DIDN'T KNOW OF THE LINK, SAID NICOLE ATZBACH, THE MUSEUM'S ASSISTANT DIRECTOR. THE MUSEUM IS WORKING WITH CONSULTANTS IN LONDON AND PARIS TO TRACE THE ART WORKS' CHAIN OF CUSTODY AND VERIFY OWNERSHIP. DOCUMENTS SHOW THAT THE PAINTINGS WERE INITIALLY RETURNED TO THE FRENCH GOVERNMENT, BUT THE EXPERTS ARE TRYING TO DETERMINE WHETHER FRANCE GAVE THE PAINTINGS BACK TO THE ROTHSCHILD FAMILY BEFORE THE MEADOWS MUSEUM ACQUIRED THEM. EDSEL TOLD THE ASSOCIATED PRESS THAT THAT DOCUMENT IS 'A MISSING LINK TO TITLE OWNERSHIP'. EVEN SO, HE AND THE UNIVERSITY SAID THE MUSEUM'S OWNERSHIP OF THE WORKS WILL BE VALIDATED. THE MUSEUM HAS SHOWN THE ARTWORKS INTERNATIONALLY AND PUBLISHED THEM IN VARIOUS CATALOGS WITHOUT ANYONE CLAIMING TO OWN THEM. 'GIVEN THAT THESE PAINTINGS ARE SO WIDELY KNOWN, THEIR LOAN HISTORY... AND THE FACT THAT THE ROTHSCHILDS WERE CLOSELY TIED TO THE ART WORLD I DON'T SEE HOW THEY WOULD NOT HAVE SPOKEN OUT TO CLAIM THEM IF THEY HAD NOT ALREADY GONE THROUGH PROPER CHANNELS', ATZBACH SAID.