His first and last trip to the city in 1940 was not for military purposes — he left that to his generals — but for his one true love: art.
Michelle Young
Michelle Young is an author, journalist, and founder of Untapped New York. Her forthcoming book The Art Spy about WWII spy Rose Valland will be published by HarperOne in 2025. She holds degrees from Harvard and Columbia University GSAPP, where she is an adjunct professor. Find her on Threads and X.
Posted inFeatures
At Home With the Last Heir of a Pissarro Painting Looted by Nazis
David Cassirer reflects on his family, their legacy, and the work at the center of a serpentine legal case that has wound up and down the US court system for the last 25 years.
Posted inFilm
Plunderer Shows How Art Looting Continues to Pay Off
The two-part documentary asks us to rethink what we know about looting, art restitution, the art market, and who the war’s heroes and villains really were.
Posted inBooks
How a Gauguin Painting Went From Real, to Lost, to Fake
A new book is an art detective mystery, a behind-the-scenes look at provenance research, a psychological analysis, and a critical commentary on the art market.
Posted inNews
Will Richard Serra’s Forgotten Paris Sculpture Finally See the Light of Day?
When I broke the story about the whereabouts of “Clara-Clara,” I hoped that it would spur action by the City of Paris, which owns the work. It appears that it has.
Posted inArt
The Richard Serra Sculpture That Was Just Too Much for Paris
How did the artist’s massive “Clara-Clara” (1983) end up in the backyard of a former water treatment facility on the city’s outskirts?
Posted inNews
After Disappearing for Decades, a van Gogh Watercolor Sold Under Duress and Then Stolen by Nazis May Fetch $30M
The heirs of two Jewish collectors, one who sold the work to fund his escape from Germany, and another who had the artwork stolen by the Nazis, will receive financial restitution from the Christie’s sale.