Doctors Raise Funds, Celebrate Returned Art 

With standing room only, more than 110 people attended UJA-Federation of New York’s 2010 New York-Presbyterian Hospital Campaign reception January 27th, and heard the dramatic story of Jacques Goudstikker’s famed art collection that was looted by the Nazis in the 1940s and only recently restored to the family by the Dutch government.

Hosted at the Upper East Side’s Arader Galleries, the evening’s program offered donors the chance to hear about the impact of UJA-Federation and also featured the  story and slides of Goudstikker’s “greatest collection of art,” according to his granddaughter, Charlène von Saher, who spoke along with her mother, Marei.

“We proudly apologize for the crowd,” said the hospital campaign’s chair David A. Shapiro, who welcomed the guests. It was the first of what is anticipated to be an annual series of New York-Presbyterian events for UJA-Federation.

'Urgent crises'

David Blumenthal, another hospital campaign chair, lauded UJA-Federation for its “ability to respond to urgent crises,” referring specifically to Connect to Care, a program that has served more than 13,000 individuals.

Eileen Cutler, who chaired the event with her husband, Lawrence, called the gallery a “perfect location” for the evening. The high ceilings and antique furnishings provided a warm space for conversations and catching up between colleagues while complementing the theme of the evening: the famed Goudstikker collection of drawings and paintings.

Marei von Saher spoke about “one of the happiest days of [her] life,” referring to February 6, 2006, when the Dutch government restituted to the family 200 artworks from her father-in-law’s collection. The only twinge of sadness, she said, was in Desi and Edo — wife and son of Goudstikker — not living to see that day. Goudstikker himself died while fleeing Europe in 1940.

The challenges facing the von Sahers have been twofold, they said. There is the difficulty of locating a piece, with further complications ensuing in making a legal claim to it. But the family said it has had an advantage: the book Goudstikker used to keep records of his collection.

While Charlene  echoed her mother’s sentiment, she detailed the difficulties and legalities in the retrieval of Nazi-looted art. The family said Goudstikker’s vast collection of more than 1,400 works included exquisite pieces from celebrated artists, including Jan Wellens De Cock’s The Temptation of St. Anthony; Donatello’s Madonna and Child; and Luca Cranach the Elder’s Adam and Eve. While the first two have been restored to the family, the family said the last is yet to be recovered from a California museum.