A Czech claimed to be the legal owner of several blue-chip artworks that once belonged to Jewish cabaret and collectors, who were murdered by the Nazis and have sued Christie for information about his whereabouts.
After seeking to restore the state, Milos Vavra filed a petition against Christie’s in the New York Supreme Court on August 7, asking the auction house to disclose the ownership and location of the work that had been calculated in Franz Friedrich’s “Friedrich’s “Fritz” Grünbaum”. Vavra is a descendant of Grünbaum and has previously earned 50% of sales revenue, which is 50% of the auction of the restored works by Christie’s auction by Egon Schiele.
Vavra said in the petition that he “recently learned that Christie had reached an infeasible agreement (NDA) with the claimed “Swiss Family” (NDA) in an attempt to auction artworks from the Grünbaum collection” and that information was disclosed at the auction house, so Vavra may raise information about Vavra’s ART export of the Art for Artear to Southabor soutive of the Sout of the Sounabor sounder in 2016. ACT), 22USC §1621. Second half of 2026.
The petition includes an email from attorney Dennis Glazer on July 16, and an email from Eileen Brankovic, Christie’s director of international operations, sent to Vavra’s attorney on July 21. The email includes Christie’s experts claiming that Christie’s experts have seen these three works in the three controversial works, two of which are “the highest quality of the highest quality” (and famous works from once valuable works).
The ordinance established six years of restrictive regulations for claims seeking Nazi spoils. Grünbaum was killed in Dachau concentration camp in 1941, and the Nazis forced him to sign a document that gave his wife the transfer of his property, including his collection of artworks.
Vavra’s lawyer, Raymond J.
Christie spokesman told the lawsuit Artnews By email, the auction house “has established an unparalleled record of publicly selling objects with painful world wartime history that brings painful world history through respect for the law, restoration of ethics of principles, and agreements developed to support successful outcomes, just as we do in this case.”
Christie’s is represented by Joseph A. Patella, attorney at the law firm Womble Bond Dickinson (US) LLP. Artnews Vavra’s legal representative has been contacted for comment.
The news of the lawsuit was first New York Post.
