By: Jessie Sha
Should the famous painting “Woman Ironing” stay in the possession of Guggenheim, or should it be returned to the heir Karl Adler and Rosi Jacobi? This question is being asked all over the art world after the two heirs decided to sue Guggenheim for a “wrongful possession.” In my opinion, the piece should stay in the museum Guggenheim because they were gifted it by one of the original owners, Thannhauser.
This sad piece has been lent to many other museums in the past before settling down. Thannhauser posthumously gifted the work to the museum in 1978 decades after the war.
This shows that it’s not wrongfully in their possession as they were gifted this piece. They shouldn’t be sued for wrongful possession if they were given it. The original heir was someone in Thannhauser’s family however, Adler acquired it, but later ended up giving it back to one of the Thannhauser’s. This piece has moved around so many times, so it would be best to let it stay in a place now.
Since this piece has been loaned so many times, there isn’t really a “rightful possession.” It is a rightful possession for the Guggenheim because it they didn’t steal it or do anything illegal to acquire this piece. It is wrong to take it away from the museum as it was a gift to them. It also seems that the Thannhauser’s have had many battles over art pieces with the New York institutions and that they have their own art gallery, so why would they need another one? It only seems fair that Guggenheim gets to keep this valuable gift/piece in their museum.