pictures at an exhibition

A book by the same name (in homage to the ten piano piece-suite by Mussorgsky), weaves a story about an art dealer in Paris before World War II, his son who wishes to inherit the gallery and business, looted, plundered art during the war, and a curator who manages to catalogue stolen art. The author seems to ask, “who owns the art?” That the dealer is a Jew makes the story even more compelling and tragic. The book left me empty and bit exhausted, sad and somewhat mystified by the questions posed by this story. Picasso collaborated with the Germans. The fictitious art dealer and his family in this story hide in southern France during the occupation. After the war, the art dealer’s son, who narrates the story, goes to Paris to attempt to reclaim paintings stolen from his father’s gallery. One of which, a painting his father always refused to sell, “Almonds” by Manet, a painting actually looted from the Bernheim-Jeune Collection in Paris and never returned (pictured above). Also interesting…one of Hitler’s favorite artists – Vermeer. He “arranged” for the Rothschild’s Vermeers (the most famous “The Astronomer”) to be “transferred” to his personal collection. His arranger was that art lover colleague of his – Hermann Goering. “Pictures at an Exhibition” by Sara Houghteling.