Albert Leopold Koppel

Albert and his father forced by the Nazis to divest himself of his ownership in Auergesellschaft, a chemical manufacturing company based in Oranienburg, and his banking business. The German corporation Degussa took control of Auergesellschaft in 1934; Degussa was a large chemical company with extensive experience in the production of metals.

The Rubens had been stolen by Hermann Goering, who oversaw much of the Nazi art-plunder, from the great Berlin collection assembled by Jewish banker and industrialist Leopold Koppel. It passed through the Munich collecting point for confiscated art, a site that Wittmann visited many times.

After the war, when Wittmann took the Toledo job, he learned from Metropolitan Museum of Art curator Theodore Rousseau -- with whom he had worked at the OSS -- that the painting was available. Koppel’s son, Albert, had recovered the stolen masterpiece and wished to sell it. The Met, unsure of its authenticity, turned down the opportunity to buy it.

Wittman’s connoisseurship, however, coupled with the knowledge he gained in Europe, gave him confidence to proceed with its acquisition.

He turned out to be right. Today the altarpiece is universally accepted as being entirely by Rubens’ hand. It’s a linchpin in the museum’s impressive collection, which is especially strong in 17th century Dutch, French and Italian painting, as well as 19th century American art.

http://articles.latimes.com/2014/feb/13/entertainment/la-et-cm-monu...

• Reference: MyHeritage Family Trees - SmartCopy: Nov 11 2018, 5:38:35 UTC