TV show finds art by West Yorkshire artist Moore in Nazi hoard

An authentic watercolour sketch by the British 20th-century sculptor Henry Moore has been identified among a Nazi art hoard housed in the Museum of Fine Art in Bern in Switzerland.
By The Newsroom
Published 26th Aug 2018, 20:57 BST
Updated 26th Aug 2018, 22:01 BST
Philip Mould and Fiona Bruce from BBC One programme Fake Or Fortune? which has identified among a Nazi art hoard housed in the Museum of Fine Art in Bern in Switzerland an authentic watercolour sketch by the British 20th-century sculptor Henry MoorPhilip Mould and Fiona Bruce from BBC One programme Fake Or Fortune? which has identified among a Nazi art hoard housed in the Museum of Fine Art in Bern in Switzerland an authentic watercolour sketch by the British 20th-century sculptor Henry Moor
Philip Mould and Fiona Bruce from BBC One programme Fake Or Fortune? which has identified among a Nazi art hoard housed in the Museum of Fine Art in Bern in Switzerland an authentic watercolour sketch by the British 20th-century sculptor Henry Moor

The discovery was made following an investigation on an episode of BBC One programme Fake Or Fortune?

Moore’s sketch was among 1,500 works discovered in Germany in 2012 that had belonged to art dealer Hildebrand Gurlitt.

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Gurlitt bought the piece after it was confiscated from a German museum in the 1930s for being what Adolf Hitler classified as “degenerate art”. As Hitler sought to consolidate power in Germany he set out to purge the country of any modern progressive art.

During the art programme a document was found that proved the museum from which Moore’s sketch was taken had received it from Moore himself.

The sketch has been estimated to be worth up to £70,000 due to its rich and emotive history. It will be now be displayed in the museum in Bern.

One of the presenters of Fake Or Fortune?, art expert Philip Mould, said the story was “fascinating”.

Related topics:West YorkshireSwitzerland