Analysis of information sources in references of the Wikipedia article "Franz Marc" in English language version.
The work has been in the Düsseldorf City Art Collection since 1962. Its original owner was the Jewish businessman and banker Kurt Grawi, who bought the painting in 1928 and fled Europe to Chile after being imprisoned at the Sachsenhausen concentration camp in Germany. In a letter from 1939, Grawi wrote that the sale of Foxes in New York would fund his emigration from Europe.
Grawi's heirs said he sold the painting purely because of his need to finance the family's escape. The advisory commission said in a press statement that a majority of its members—with three dissenters—believed the work should be restituted 'even though the sale was completed outside the National Socialist sphere of influence, and, in the light of information currently available, the payment of a fair price and the opportunity for free disposal are plausible.' The sale was nonetheless 'so closely connected with National Socialist persecution that the location of the event becomes secondary in comparison', the panel said.
Grawi's heirs said he sold the painting purely because of his need to finance the family's escape. The advisory commission said in a press statement that a majority of its members—with three dissenters—believed the work should be restituted 'even though the sale was completed outside the National Socialist sphere of influence, and, in the light of information currently available, the payment of a fair price and the opportunity for free disposal are plausible.' The sale was nonetheless 'so closely connected with National Socialist persecution that the location of the event becomes secondary in comparison', the panel said.
