ZURICH – A top Swiss museum has run into trouble showing an art collection acquired in questionable circumstances during World War II, with some saying its attempt to put it “in context” does not focus enough on the fate of the art’s former Jewish owners.
There has long been suspicion around the Nazi-era origins of one of Europe’s most prestigious private art collections, acquired by arms dealer Emil Buhrle, who made his fortune during the war.
The German-born industrialist became a naturalised Swiss citizen in 1937 and died in 1956, having amassed around 600 artworks, including masterpieces by Cezanne, Degas, Manet, Monet, Renoir, Rembrandt, Picasso and Van Gogh.
Some had previously been looted from their Jewish owners, or sold cheaply and in haste as their owners fled the Nazis.
The Kunsthaus Zurich faced criticism in 2021 when it opened a new building to house…
