Eugen Buchthal

Eugen Moritz Buchthal (11 March 1878 – 1954) was a German Jewish businessman and art collector persecuted by the Nazis.

Life

Born on 11 March 1878 in Berlin, Buchthal ran a clothes manufacturing and fashion company, Seeler-Herrmann-Damenmäntel- und Kleiderfabrik & Co., in Berlin.[1] His home was known as the Villa Buchthal.[2][3] In 1909, Eugen Buchthal married Therese (Thea) Wolff and they had three children: Hugo (born 1909), Anne Gerda (born 1913) and Wolfgang Heinrich (born 1922).[4]

Art collector and patron of the arts

The Buchthals had an important art collection, supported artists and loaned artworks to the National Museum in Berlin.[5][6] Their collection included works by Otto Müller, Emil Nolde, Lyonel Feininger, Wilhelm Lehmbruck and Franz Marc.[7][8]

Nazi persecution

When the Nazis came to power in 1933, Buchthal and his family were persecuted because of his Jewish heritage even though he was assimilated.[2] In 1936, Villa Buchthal was acquired by Dr. Bruno Bruhn, Generaldirektor der Krupp AG and the Buchthals emigrated to London.[9]

Claims for restitution for looted artworks

In 2017 the Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz restituted nine artworks to his heirs.[10] The heirs of Eugen and Thea Buchthal have registered 141 search requests on the German Lost Art Foundation website for artworks lost due to Nazi persecution.[11]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation restitutes works from the Buchthal collection". lootedart.com. Retrieved 2024-11-29. Eugen Moritz Buchthal, born in Berlin on March 11, 1878, was co-owner of a clothes manufacturing company: Seeler-Herrmann-Damenmäntel und Kleiderfabrik & Co. He married Therese Wolff, with whom he had three children. In 1922/23, the couple commissioned Hans and Wassili Luckhardt, working with Franz Hoffmann, to build a prestigious brick villa in the Westend district of Berlin. Designed in the Expressionist style, it was made over in the modernist 'New Objectivity' style in 1928. Today it is one of Berlin's protected architectural monuments.
  2. ^ a b Kunst, Raub und Rückgabe ‧ Vergessene Lebensgeschichten: Eugen Moritz Buchthal 1878-1954 - hier anschauen (in German). Retrieved 2024-11-28 – via www.ardmediathek.de.
  3. ^ "Modeunternehmer Eugen Moritz Buchthal". rbb-online.de (in German). 2024-06-08. Retrieved 2024-11-28.
  4. ^ Schneuer, Bettina (2019-10-15). "Zurück zur alten Spitze: das Haus Buchthal nach der Renovierung". AD Magazin (in German). Retrieved 2024-11-29.
  5. ^ Anke. "Thea und Eugen Buchthal". Art, Looting, and Restitution. Retrieved 2024-11-28.
  6. ^ Berlin, Staatliche Museen zu. "Re-purchase of Kirchner etching following restitution". smb.museum. Retrieved 2024-11-28.
  7. ^ "Buchthal, Eugen". proveana.de. Retrieved 2024-11-28.
  8. ^ "Die Villa Buchthal: Vom Kristall zum Kubus". Der Tagesspiegel Online (in German). ISSN 1865-2263. Retrieved 2024-11-29. Der Konfektionskaufmann Buchthal und seine kunstsinnige Frau entschieden: Genau so wollten sie wohnen. Mit Gemälden von Feininger, Nolde, Pechstein und Erich Heckel komplettierten sie ihr Domizil, schafften Skulpturen von Lehmbruck und Emy Roeder an. Sogar der Garten wuchs sich mit pfeilförmig auf das Haus weisenden Blumenrabatten zu einem Kunstwerk aus. Arnold Schönberg, Max Beckmann, Lou Andreas-Salome und andere kamen zu Gast.
  9. ^ "Baudenkmal Haus Buchthal". LenzWerk (in German). Retrieved 2024-11-29.
  10. ^ Berlin, Staatliche Museen zu. "Re-purchase of Kirchner etching following restitution". smb.museum. Retrieved 2024-11-28. The Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz – the body overseeing the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin – has returned nine artworks to the heirs of the Jewish entrepreneur and collector, Eugen Moritz Buchthal. One etching by E.L. Kirchner has been re-purchased for the Kupferstichkabinett.
  11. ^ "Suche". lostart.de. Retrieved 2024-11-29.