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1
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OPINION
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EXTRACTED KEY WORDS
MUSEUM SUBPOENA DUCES TECUM CULTURAL AFFAIRS LAW YORK GRAND JURY CITY MATTER STATUTE SEIZURE PAINTINGS CIVIL NAZI NONRESIDENT ARTWORK BAR MODERN ART NY2D GRAND JURY INVESTIGATION EXHIBITION DISTRICT ATTORNEY COMMITTEE LEGISLATURE LEGISLATION LEOPOLD FOUNDATION POSSESSION ART GALLERY CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS UNITED STATES CPL |
IN THE MATTER OF THE GRAND JURY SUBPOENA DUCES TECUM, &C.
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THE PEOPLE &C., RESPONDENT, v. THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART, APPELLANT.
93 N.Y.2d 729 (1999).
September 21, 1999
1 No. 139 (99 NY Int. 0126)
Decided September 21, 1999
_________________________________________________________________
This opinion is uncorrected and subject to revision before publication
in the New York Reports.
_________________________________________________________________
Evan A. Davis, for appellant.
Mark Dwyer, for respondent.
Albright-Knox Art Gallery, et al.; Association of the
Bar of the City of New York, Committee on Art Law; American
Section, International Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists,
amici curiae.
WESLEY, J.:
More than half a century ago, Nazis confiscated Jewish-owned artwork
throughout Europe. Much of this artwork vanished during the war, but
ultimately found its way into museums around the world; other pieces
became part of private collections.
In this case we must determine whether Arts and Cultural Affairs Law
section 12.03, which protects the artwork of nonresident lenders from
"any kind of seizure" while on exhibit in New York State, encompasses
a subpoena duces tecum requiring production of two paintings by Egon
Schiele on loan to the Museum of Modern Art in New York from the
Leopold Foundation in Vienna. The subpoena was issued by the New York
County District Attorney's office pursuant to a Grand Jury
investigation into the theft of those paintings during the German
annexation of Austria. The statute's language and history lead us to
conclude that the protection of section 12.03 -- which in the past has
been used in the context of civil actions -- applies under the
circumstances of this case.
I.
In October 1997, the Leopold Foundation in Vienna loaned more than 150
works by Egon Schiele, the renowned Austrian expressionist, to the
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