Lucas Cranach's Portrait to Be Auctioned at Christie's After Deal Between Museum and Jewish Family

Christie's will be auctioning a portrait made by Lucas Cranach the Elder, a German Renaissance artist, in January 2025. According to the Art Newspaper, this is after a Pennsylvania museum and the heirs of its former Jewish owner reached settlements.

The painting, called Portrait of George the Bearded, Duke of Saxony, came into the possession of the Allentown Art Museum in 1961, although it was owned before World War II by Henry Bromberg, a Jewish judge living in Hamburg, Germany.

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Lucas Cranach's Portrait History

Per the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Henry Bromberg inherited the painting from his father, along with other Old Masters and fine furnishings. The painting stayed in Bromberg's house until at least the year 1935, but from there on its line of ownership is not very certain. 

It resurfaced in 1938 in the possession of a Paris art dealer. In 1938, Bromberg and his family took a flight away from then-Nazi Germany, due to persecution. They reached the United States after having paid the Reichsfluchtsteuer, a heavy tax imposed upon emigrating Jews.

"That moral imperative compelled us to act. We hope that this voluntary act by the museum will inform and encourage similar institutions to reach fair and just solutions," said Max Weintraub, president and CEO of the Allentown Art Museum. 

George the Bearded, Duke of Saxony Auction

It was agreed to sell the painting by the museum and Bromberg's heirs at an auction and divide the money received. So far, the family of Bromberg has recovered other artworks such as a Flemish portrait together with a triptych. 

However, over 90 items that have been presumed to disappear during the Nazi period are still looked for.

The New York Times shared that the painting will be on display at the museum from August 29 to October 20, 2024, in an exhibition highlighting its history and the museum's decision to return it. The sale, part of Christie's Old Masters auction in New York, is expected to draw attention, although the final price estimate has not yet been determined.

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