Marc Spiegler, now Global Director of Art Basel, wrote “an extensive profile” of art historian and art restitution specialist Clemens Toussaint in 2003. Spiegler’s article about Toussaint, The Devil and the Art Detective, appeared in Art + Auction in July of 2003. Spiegler considers this article to be among his “best ever.”
Art restitution is, in Mr. Spiegler’s words, “a minefield of ethical dilemmas and conflicting ‘realities.'” Toussaint’s work is sensitive, with passion, compelling argument, and, oftentimes, a wish for discretion on all sides. He is known to do detailed, thorough, impeccable research and has assisted clients recover paintings from collections and museums globally.
Prerequisites for restitution of works of art include a “united family front” (all known heirs need to be in agreement) and a detailed knowledge of a work’s provenance (exactly when, how, and where a work has changed hands and which country’s laws apply to each transaction).
Mr. Spiegler writes,
“An extensive profile of Clemens Toussaint, who at the time ranked among the most controversial men in the European art world. In part because he’s a tempestuous maverick in a milieu of complicit discretion. But also because art restitution is a minefield of ethical dilemmas and conflicting “realities.” Roaming from 1930s Germany to present-day Monte Carlo, this article ranks among my best ever.”
See:
“The Devil and the Art Detective” | Marc Spiegler, Art and Auction, July 2003
For more about Clemens Toussaint and his work, see:
“Europe Celebrates Kazimir Malevich, a Pioneer in Abstract Art” | Kevin Holden Platt, The New York Times, 25 May 2016
“How Did a Stolen Malevich End Up at Sotheby’s” | Noelle Bodick, Blouin Artinfo, 4 November 2015
“Göring, Rembrandt and the Little Black Book” | Alan Riding, The New York Times, 26 March 2006
“A Monet Off the Met’s Wall Has a Controversial History” | Brooks Barnes, The Wall Street Journal, 3 May 2002
“Met to Sell Monet” | Martin Bailey for The Art Newspaper, Forbes, 1 May 2002
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