LONDON (EJP)---A groundbreaking exhibition aimed at reclaiming art confiscated by the Nazis from a gallery in Germany is to be launched in London next month.

The Ben Uri London Museum of Jewish Art has been awarded the worldwide rights to represent the world tour of ’Auktion 392’ with the stated purpose of reclaiming the art from the Galerie Stern, Dusseldorf in 1937.

The exhibition was originally launched in Montreal last year, followed by the Leo Baeck Institute in New York.

Ben Uri takes the reins this year with the European launch in London from September 16th till November 25th.

The tour will take in major European cities and those in the USA and South America followed by Israel, Australia and South Africa.

Nazi period story

The display tells the story of an art-dealer under the anti-Jewish laws of the early Nazi period.

Dr Max Stern (1940-1987) ran his gallery in Dusseldorf until permission to continue was withdrawn in 1937. He was then given 17days to close down and the stock of paintings was confiscated and later sold by the Lempertz Auction House in Cologne on orders from the Gestapo. The sale number was Auktion 392.

The Ben Uri Gallery, the London Jewish Museum of Art, is located 108a Boundary Road in St Johns Wood, London. www.benuri.org.uk Phone: 002076043991

After escaping from Germany, and then Paris, Stern made his way to England where he was greeted with internment in the Isle of Man. Eventually he was able to reach Montreal.

After years of struggle he opened the Dominion Gallery of Fine Art which was to become a leader of 20th Century European art in North America in which leading sculptors such as Henry Moore, Jean Arp and Aristide Maillol were seen by many people for the first time. It is said that the Gallery held the largest collection of Rodin’s work outside the Musee Rodin Paris.

Unusual project

The London Museum hopes to recreate both the Galerie Stern and the Lempertz auction rooms in their London premises.
Auktion 392 is an unusual step for Ben Uri as the actual art belonging to the Galerie Sternis not specifically Jewish in character,subject or artist but rather shows the contribution to the art world made by collectors,curators and galleries.

As David Glasser, chairman of the Ben Uri Museum, told London’s Evening Standard he hopes very much that the exhibition “will build awareness of the historical and contemporary issues arising from this show and simultaneously help to recover more of Dr Stern’s paintings from Lempertz Auktion 392.”