The Nazis looted over 20% of Western Art during World War 2 and the effects of Nazi looting are still evident.  This lecture will cover the following topics: why the Nazis looted art, how the Nazis looted art and how the looted art was returned after the war.  There are several landmark cases that will be discussed in detail, including Gustav Klimt’s celebrated Portrait of Adele Bloch Bauer and the stash of over 1200 artworks found in possession of the son of a notorious Nazi dealer.

About the Lecturer

Shauna Isaac, has been active in World War II art restitution for several years and has worked with families and government organisations to recover Nazi looted art. She set up the Central Registry on Looted Cultural Property and served as a member of the Working Group for the Holocaust Era Assets Conference in Prague. Shauna studied at the Courtauld Institute of Art in the UK and Smith College in the USA. She is a regular lecturer at the Sotheby’s Institute of Art. Her publications include articles for The Art Newspaper, The Times Literary Supplement and Art Quarterly. She is a contributor to the book   Insiders/Outsiders: Refuges from Nazi Europe and their contribution to British Visual Culture