Russian Collectors' Heirs Want Compensation for Lost Art

Two men who claim to be the rightful owners of some of Europe's most admired paintings - which will go on display in London today - have said they will not make any legal ownership claims but believe they deserve financial compensation.

Pierre Konowaloff and André-Marc Delocque-Fourcaud have accepted an invitation from the Royal Academy to a private view of what will be one of the year's blockbuster shows, From Russia: French and Russian Paintings 1870-1925.

Delocque-Fourcaud is the grandson of Sergei Shchukin and Konowaloff is the great-grandson of Ivan Morozov, two of the most assiduous Russian tsarist-era collectors until they had the art confiscated by Lenin in 1918.

The threat of a legal claim on the paintings almost led to the show being canceled and, after frosty diplomatic exchanges, the government rushed through legislation to guarantee that foreign-owned assets could not be seized.

Konowaloff said that it would be the first time he had seen the paintings. "That is very exciting. It is a pity that we do not receive any compensation from the museums. We are the rightful owners."

The two men also released a joint statement in which they said they were not seeking restitution of the paintings, which are normally on display in Moscow and St Petersburg.

Of the more than 120 works in the exhibition 13 were once owned by Morozov and 23 were owned by Shchukin, including The Dance by Henri Matisse.

But they added: "What we are questioning is the extremely violent way in which these extraordinary collections, gathered over many years by our forefathers, were taken." They said there should be "an agreement made that reasonably compensates and pays a percentage of the material benefits that accrue from exploitation of the works".

Konowaloff and Delocque-Fourcaud added: "The great art exhibitions are not any more purely cultural enterprises for the edification and education of the people. They are huge economic machines, crucial for the budgets of the lending museums, who are supported by super sponsors."

The RA is breathing a huge sigh of relief that the exhibition is finally here and has not been affected by the latest downturn in Anglo-Russian relations involving the closure of British Council offices. Art critics were yesterday allowed in to see the show, which features masterpieces by artists including Kandinsky, Chagall, Monet, Picasso, Renoir, Cézanne and Gauguin.