“The Poles are trying to keep the evacuated Ukrainian museum artifacts in Poland,” says Benduk
26 July 11:03
During the full-scale war, Ukraine evacuated some of its most valuable museum collections to Poland to protect them from Russian missile strikes. At the same time, after the artifacts were transferred for temporary storage, there were attempts to withhold certain works of art from being returned to the Ukrainian side. This was reported by art historian Mykola Benduk, as reported by "Komersant Ukrainian".
According to him, “During the war with Russia, Ukraine evacuated the most valuable part of its museum collections to Poland to save them from Russian missile strikes. However, there have now been attempts to withhold certain works of art from Ukraine after the end of their temporary storage. These involve lawsuits filed by representatives of the heirs of the former owners, who seek to keep these artifacts in Poland.”
Currently, he notes, two museum exhibits from the collection of one of Lviv’s museums are the subject of a lawsuit.
“So far, the lawsuit concerns two museum objects from the collection of a Lviv museum—‘Portrait of Roksolana’ by an unknown 16th-century artist and ‘Portrait of a Young Man’ by Alois Reichen (1850),” he clarified.
At the same time, according to Benduk, similar claims are being made against other Ukrainian museum treasures, even if they were not evacuated abroad:
“Among the works for which such claims may arise is ‘Portrait of Teresa Lubomirska as Hebe’ (1807) by the Austrian artist Joseph Grassi (1757–1838). The painting is located in Ukraine, but the Poles are making claims to it just as they are to the two that were taken abroad.”
Teresa Lubomirska (née Chortoryiska) was born on July 13, 1785, in Korets. Teresa later married Prince Heinrich Lubomirski, a native of Rivne.
In conclusion, Benduk emphasized that once the war ends, all evacuated artifacts must be returned to Ukraine.
“Once the threat has been eliminated, all evacuated Ukrainian museum artifacts must be returned to the Ukrainian museums from which they were removed,” he noted.
It is worth noting that Ukrainians living and working in Poland make a significant contribution to the state budget and the country’s economy. Their tax and social security contributions far exceed the amount of direct social benefits they receive.
