L. Meyer v. Bd. of Regents of

the U. of Oklahoma

Historical Background

SHEPHERDESS BRINGING IN SHEEP

• Sheperdess Bringing In

Sheep (“Bergère rentrant

des moutons”) (1886)

• [herein referred to as “La

Bergère”]

• An Oil on canvas, by Camille

Pissarro, France, 1830 – 1903

• Aaron M. and Clara

Weitzenhoffer Bequest, 2000

• [Source: Fred Jones Museum]

•

THE WEITZENHOFFER BEQUEST

(2000)

- 33 impressionist paintings

- Important masterpieces such as Monet, Corot, Renoir, Bonnard, Gauguin

- Some examples:

- Sara in a Dark Bonnet Tied under her Chin, c. 1901, By Mary Cassatt (1844-1926) Pastel on paper, 22 x 17 1/2 in.

- Personnages sur la plage, Trouville (People on the Beach, Trouville), 1866, By Eugène Boudin (1824-1898) Watercolor and graphite on paper, 5 1/2 x 10 in.

- Coast Scene, 1893, By Paul Signac 1863-1935) Oil on canvas, 18 1/2 x 22 in.

LÉONE MEYER

• Following the murder of her entire family at Auschwitz during World War II, Léone Meyer was adopted by Raoul Meyer (1892-1970) and Yvonne Bader (1897-1971) in December 1946.

• Upon Yvonne Bader’s death in 1971, Léone Meyer became the sole heir to both Raoul Meyer and Yvonne Bader family’s assets, including their art collection, which included the Pissarro painting.

Einsatzstab Reichsleiter Rosenberg (ERR)

German soldiers posing with painting taken from the National Museum of Naples Picture Gallery

Source: Wikipedia

The ERR was one of several

Nazi agencies engaged in the

plunder of cultural property in

Nazi-occupied countries during

World War II.

The Meyer family appeared on

special listings drawn up by the

ERR of Jewish collections

targeted for seizure in German-

occupied France.

JEU DE PAUME

• The ERR had a depot at the Louvre Museum and one at a

museum known as “The Jeu de Paume.” The Jeu de Paume

served as the main processing, sorting, and distribution

station for art and cultural object confiscated by the ERR all

over France.

• Artwork that was categorized as “undesirable” was set aside

to either be sold to dealers and collectors to obtain foreign

exchange, or to be exchanged for more acceptable works of

art, such as European Old Masters, that could be repatriated

to the Third Reich and incorporated into Nazi collections.

SEIZURE OF La Bergère

• In March 1940, the Meyer family placed their art collection

in a bank safe at Crédit Commercial de France, located in

Mont-de-Marsan, France, for safe keeping.

• On or around February 22, 1941, Nazi forces obtained

access to the bank and seized a collection of artworks

registered under the name of Mrs. Raoul Meyer.

• The seized Meyer collection was sent to Jeu de Paume. La

Bergère was set aside for possible exchange. The painting

ended up in Switzerland between 1944 and 1946.

REGISTRATION OF STOLEN

ARTWORK• Following the liberation of Paris in August 1944 a special

commission, “Commission de Récupération Artistique” (CRA) was

created to document, research the thefts of and restitute cultural

assets. Unsatisfied claims were transferred to “Office des biens et

intérêts privés” (OBIP).

• Raoul Meyer sent an inventory of artwork taken by Nazis to the CRA.

Some artwork was recovered, but not La Bergère. Raoul Meyer sent

an inventory of unsatisfied claims to the OBIP.

• Raoul Meyer’s artwork that was still missing was incorporated into a

report titled “Répertoire des Biens Spoliés en France Durant la

Guerre de 1939-1945.” This report was widely disseminated to

embassies, museums and art galleries throughout Europe and the

Americas.

Tripartite Agreement

• The United States, France,

and Great Britain signed the

“Tripartite Agreement” on

July 8, 1946. As past of its

obligation under the

Agreement, the U.S. State

Department distributed

registries of art losses, such as

the “Répertoire des Biens

Spoliés en France Durant la

Guerre de 1939-1945” to

museums, galleries, colleges

and universities. La Bergère

• Raoul Meyer’s Pissarro

painting was listed in one of

the distributed registries.

“Répertoire des Biens Spoliés en France

Durant la Guerre de 1939-1945” was one of

the registries distributed in by the U.S. State

Department.

THE SWISS LITIGATION

• When Raoul Meyer brought filed a civil case in a Swiss court in

1953, he had to prove that Christoph Bernoulli acquired the

Pissarro painting with knowledge it was stolen (bad faith). The

Swiss Court held that Raoul Meyer failed to prove Bernoulli

acquired the Pissarro painting in bad faith.

• In the US, a thief cannot convey good title. The original owner

retains title to the stolen object. It does not matter if a

subsequent purchaser did not know the object was previously

stolen.

THE CRIVELLI REPORT

• On December 16, 1996, the Federal Council of Switzerland

created the Bergier Commission, also known as the

Independent Commission of Experts (ICE). The ICE’s

mandate was to investigate the volume and fate of assets

moved to Switzerland before, during, and immediately after

World War II.

• On March 3, 1998, Pablo Crivelli, an ICE member,

submitted a report titled “Internal Report-The Issue of

Looted Assets (Works of Art) in the Swiss Federal Archives,

1943-1950.”

CRIVELLI’S CONCLUSIONS• The Swiss Government’s policies enabled the permissive

importation of looted artwork into Switzerland.

• The Swiss Federal agencies involved in the investigational and

restitution of artwork exercised censorship over information

about looted artwork that illicitly entered Switzerland.

• The private sector failed to properly cooperate with

governmental investigations, which further impeded the

resolution of looted artwork claims.

• Citing Meyer v. Bernoulli, the civil code rule in the Swiss legal

system was almost unassailable in the context of works of art

looted from Nazi-occupied territories and imported into

Switzerland.

PISSARRO PAINTING ENTERS U.S.

• In 1956, unbeknownst to Raoul

Meyer or his family, the Pissarro

painting entered the United

Stated through the David Findlay

Galleries, Inc. in New York from

, E. J. van Wisselingh & Co., an

art dealer in Amsterdam,

Holland.

• In late 1956, Clara Weitzenhoffer

acquired the Pissarro painting

from David Findlay Galleries,

Inc.

UNIVERSITY OKLAHOMA

• . After purchasing La Bergère

from Findlay, Clara Weitzenhoffer brings it to Oklahoma.

• . In 2000, Clara Weitzenhoffer’s estate bequests 33 French Impressionist painting, including La Bergère to the University of Oklahoma’s Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art.

SEARCH FOR La Bergère

• From 1945 up until their deaths, Léone Meyer’s parents

made numerous attempts to research the whereabouts of all

the missing paintings from the Meyer family art collection.

• Léone Meyer was equally determined to recover the missing

paintings and performed an exceptional level of due

diligence in her search.

EXAMPLES OF LÉONE MEYER’S EFFORTS

- Léone Meyer retrieved documents from the French Government

and numerous listings of artwork owned by private collectors.

- Léone Meyer filed claims with a French special task force

(“Matteoli Commission”, then “CIVS”) and filed a claims letter

with the Art Loss Register in London, the worlds largest private

database of lost and stolen art, antiques, and collectibles.

- Léone Meyer met several times and exchanged letters with

Sandrine and Lionel Pissarro, heirs to the Pissarro Estate and art

dealers.

- Léone Meyer hired an art expert, trustee of the “Société des Amis

du Louvre” Foundation, to perform an exhaustive research on

the whereabouts of La Bergère. The research produced no lead.

DISCOVERY OF La Bergère

• On March 26, 2012, Léone Meyer’s family discovered a blog

entry on the Holocaust Art Restitution Project website that

indicated that La Bergère’s records at Jeu de Paume matched

the Pissarro painting on display at the University of

Oklahoma’s Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art.

• On December 12, 2012, Léone Meyer, through her attorney,

demanded the return of the Pissarro painting from the

University of Oklahoma. David Boren responded on

January 18, 2013 claiming the painting was in the custody of

the University of Oklahoma Foundation, not the University

Oklahoma.

COMPLAINT

• A complaint for the return of La Bergère was filed on May 9, 2013 in the Southern District of New York.

• On January 10, 2014, the complaint was amended.

• On February 7, 2014, the University of Oklahoma filed a motion to dismiss, most notably on the following grounds:

- Lack of jurisdiction of the court;

- State Immunity from suits;

- Res judicata;

- Statute of limitations;

- Laches.

TIMELINE OF EVENTS1940

•Mar. – The Meyer family places their art collection in a bank safe at Crédit Commercial de

France

•May – Nazis invade France1941

•Feb. – Nazi forces seize La Bergère from Crédit Commercial de France and transport it to Jeu de

Paume 1942

•Jul. – La Bergère is inventoried at Jeu de Paume and set aside for possible exchange

1944-46

•Sometime between 1944 and 1946, La Bergère ends up in Switzerland

1944

•Aug. – Paris is liberated from Nazi occupation

1945

•Apr. - Raoul Meyer registers La Bergère as looted artwork

1946

•Christoph Bernoulli acquires La Bergère and sells it to Audré Maus

1951•Raoul Meyer discovers Maus is in possession of La Bergère in Switzerland•Bernoulli regains custody and control over the Pissarro painting from Maus

TIMELINE OF EVENTS CONT.

1952

•Raoul Meyer files a lawsuit against Bernoulli in Switzerland

1953•The Swiss Court holds Raoul Meyer failed to prove Bernoulli’s bad faith in acquiring La Bergère

1956

•La Bergère is exhibited at David Findlay Galleries, Inc. in New York

•Aaron and Clara Weitzenhoffer purchase La Bergère from David Findlay Galleries, Inc.

2000

•Clara Weitzenhoffer’s estate bequests La Bergère to University of Oklahoma’s Fred Jones Jr.

Museum of Art

2009

•Mar. – Dr. Annette Schlagenhauff researches La Bergère, discovers documents regarding

Bernoulli, and provides the documents to the Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art

2012

•Mar. – Léone Meyer’s family discovers the location of La Bergère

•Dec. – Léone Meyer demands the return of La Bergère from the University of Oklahoma

2013

•Jan. – David Boren claims La Bergère is owned by the University of Oklahoma Foundation, not

the University

•May – Léone Meyer files her complaint