US authorities seize Schiele artworks from museums amid claims they were stolen from Jewish collector during Holocaust

Overview

• Three artworks by Austrian Expressionist Egon Schiele were seized from the Art Institute of Chicago, Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh, and Allen Memorial Art Museum.
• The artworks were owned by Fritz Grunbaum, a Jewish cabaret performer who died in the Dachau concentration camp in 1941.
• Grunbaum's heirs believe the artworks were forcibly taken from him and have been trying to reclaim them through US courts.
• The seizures were carried out by the Manhattan District Attorney's office through warrants claiming the museums possessed stolen property.
• The heirs previously dropped claims against the Santa Barbara Museum of Art for another Schiele artwork they believed was stolen from Grunbaum.