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What the Nazis Stole from Richard Neumann (and the search to get it back)
April 10, 2021 – January 16, 2022

This exhibition presents 14 paintings and sculptures from the once extensive art collection of Dr. Richard Neumann (1879-1959), recently reunited following his and his family's efforts over 75 years to regain possession of them. The president of a successful textile company with mills throughout Austria and Bohemia, Neumann was a lover of the arts and an avid collector. In 1921, his collection was officially recognized with landmark status in Austria with 28 of the over 200 works acknowledged as particularly important. Following Nazi Germany's annexation of Austria in 1938, Neumann's collection was inventoried in accordance with anti-Jewish laws put in place by the Nazis. It was seized through forced sales and denied requests for export licenses, as the family fled first from Vienna and later from Paris to Cuba. In this exhibition, we present the extraordinary story of Richard Neumann—a discerning collector committed to promoting the role of the arts in civic life—, the family's persecution during World War II, and the long struggle to reassemble the collection. The small fraction of his collection that has been successfully restituted to his heirs are currently on loan to the Worcester Art Museum in recognition of Dr. Neumann's commitment to make his collection accessible to the public.