Stolen art superhero?
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Howard Spiegler fights for art justice, helping the victims of the Nazis and other criminals recover their art and antiquities. While often compared to Indiana Jones, this real-life crusader takes on his adversaries in the courtroom and prefers to tout case files rather than a bullwhip.
Spiegler, a New York-based art lawyer, is one of the team behind the recent 19 million dollar settlement over the Nazi-looted Portrait of Wally. In the culmination of a 12-year legal battle, this week the painting was put back on display in Vienna after the Leopold Museum agreed to pay compensation to the heirs of the Jewish art dealer from whom it was stolen.
As a legacy of the Nazi policy of looting works of art during World War II, and the underground trade in stolen art, cases of disputed ownership like this are far from rare.
But because of the international legal complexities involved, when Spiegler and his colleagues at Herrick, Feinstein in New York first began operating in the field of art law over three decades ago they often found themselves breaking new ground.
Since then they have helped countries and individual clients recover hundreds of works of art and valuable artefacts.
In recognition of his contribution to the field, in July the ARSA - The Association for Research into Crimes Against Art - presented Spiegler with a lifetime achievement award.
In his acceptance speech, the lawyer rebuffed the accusations sometimes made that he and his colleagues are just "bounty hunters" and gave a chilling reminder of the importance of returning stolen art by citing Adolph Hitler’s secret service chief, Heinrich Himmler.
"Himmler once declared that the Nazis had to kill all the Jews because, if not – quote - their grandchildren will ask for their property back. We and my many colleagues in this field are very proud to say that we have helped to prove Herr Himmler quite correct," he noted.
