This is such an extraordinary story. It would be astonishing even without the connection to Nazi looting and Hitler's ideas on "degenerate art." But with that background, it just takes your breath away.
Here's a NYTimes report with a slide show of seven of the most impressive works in this treasure trove: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/06/arts/design/german-officials-provide-details-on-looted-art-trove.html?ref=design Apparently these are photos of slides shown by the German authorities at the press conference announcing the find, so they aren't the best reproductions, but they're decent-sized, and you certainly can get enough of a flavor of the quality of the works (especially the stunning Matisse) to appreciate the importance of the discovery. This is another Times piece on the find, a moving historical perspective with detailed commentary on several of the works and artists: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/06/arts/design/in-a-rediscovered-trove-of-art-a-triumph-over-the-nazis-will.html More on the Nazis' exhibit of "degenerate art": http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Degenerate_art#The_Entartete_Kunst_exhibit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Degenerate_art#The_Entartete_Kunst_exhibit http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-24819441 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-24819441 About three times as many people attended this exhibit as attended another one of Nazi-"approved" art (much of it propagandistic) running at the same time. It's not hard to imagine that many of the visitors to the "degenerate" exhibit came not to sneer and criticize but to appreciate the much higher quality of its works before the Nazis did away with them. ---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, <awoelflebater@...> wrote: http://www.thestar.com/news/world/2013/11/05/hoard_of_1400_nazilooted_art_includes_chagall_matisse_picasso.html?google_editors_picks=true http://www.thestar.com/news/world/2013/11/05/hoard_of_1400_nazilooted_art_includes_chagall_matisse_picasso.html?google_editors_picks=true