The family heirs of Cornelius Gurlitt, the German recluse who was discovered to have a hoard of suspected Nazi-looted art in his Munich apartment, have declared that if they inherit the collection they will immediately return any looted artworks to their rightful owners.
Gurlitt, who died in May at the age of 81, left his entire art collection to a Swiss art museum in what was widely seen at the time as a final act of revenge against the German authorities for trying to part him from his beloved paintings.
But the Kunstmuseum Bern is yet to decide whether to accept the bequest, and if it declines, the artworks will revert to Gurlitt's family heirs.
