Sixty more Nazi-era artworks uncovered in home of German recluse
About 60 more artworks, including pieces by Monet and Renoir, have come to light at the Austrian home of an elderly German recluse whose earlier discovered art hoard is suspected to contain Nazi-looted works.
The latest pieces were found at the property in Salzburg belonging to Cornelius Gurlitt, just months after the art world was rocked by news of a spectacular trove of more than 1,400 works unearthed at his German home in 2012.
A first inspection indicates there is no Nazi loot - artwork the fascist regime stole from Jewish owners or bought from them cheaply under duress - in the latest discovery.
Gurlitt's spokesman, Stephan Holzinger, said his client's caregiver ordered the works be secured as a precaution against break-ins and theft.
He said they had been stored safely to avoid theft.
"At the request of Cornelius Gurlitt, these works are being examined by experts as to whether they include possibly stolen art. A preliminary assessment based on an initial screening did not substantiate such a suspicion," Holzinger added.
The Gurlitt case first made headlines late last year when it emerged that investigators had found more than 1,400 artworks in his Munich flat, including long-lost works by masters including Matisse and Chagall.
Gurlitt, 81, is the son of Nazi-era art dealer Hildebrand Gurlitt, who acquired the paintings in the 1930s and 1940s and had been tasked by the Nazis with selling stolen works and art the Hitler regime deemed "degenerate".
A task force appointed to research the origin of the 1,400-odd Gurlitt works has said that about 590 of them are suspected to have been looted or extorted by the Nazis from Jewish collectors.
