Even in 1908, serving in his own house collection gallery Shchukin bequeathed his native city of Moscow, but after the events of 1917 and the emigration in 1918 rewrote the will. Under the new testament, notarized by a notary of Paris, the collection was transferred three children.
In 1918, Shchukin collection was nationalized by Soviet power, the right of inheritance was abolished by law.
In Europe, the laws of other European courts do not recognize the confiscation without compensation
Not so simple as it seems ..
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Two collector, claiming that they are the rightful owners of works of art that were submitted on January 22 at a press screening at the Royal Academy of Arts in London, said they did not intend to sue, but feel that they deserve financial compensation.
Konovaloff Pierre and Andre-Marc Delocque-Fourcault accepted the invitation to the Academy to come to the private view display of "From Russia: French and Russia's Masterpieces of Painting 1870-1925 period, which presented exhibits for the four largest Russian Museum, writes The Guardian.
Delocque-Fourcault Russia's patron is the grandson of Sergei Shchukin, and Konovaloff - great-grandson of Ivan Morozov - one of the largest Russian collectors. After the Revolution, their collections were nationalized.
The exhibition was under threat because of fears of lawsuits by relatives of collectors. However, in late December 2007 the British authorities to urgently put in place a new Law on Courts, tribunals and the performance of their solutions, which guarantees the safety of all exhibits.
According Konovaloff, pictures of his famous relative, he will see the first time. "I'm very excited. It is a pity that we have not received compensation from the museums. We are the rightful owners," - he said.
Relatives of the famous Russian collectors have issued a joint statement, which indicated that do not require the return of works of art. Among the 120 works presented in the exhibition, 13 belonged to Morozov, a 23 - to Shchukin, including the famous "The Dance" by Matisse. Sergei Shchukin commissioned Matisse himself "Dance" to decorate the staircase in his mansion.
Konovaloff Pierre and Andre-Marc Delocque-Fourcault said: "We need to conclude an agreement on appropriate compensation, as well as interest on income generated from the demonstration of data products. Exhibitions of art are no longer the exclusive cultural activities aimed at education and enlightenment of people. They have become in economic actions, backed by powerful sponsors ".