Germany returns Menzel drawing sold under Nazi persecution
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Germany's culture minister has handed over an Adolph von Menzel drawing found in the massive trove of a reclusive collector to its rightful owner's descendants.
A task force examining the late Cornelius Gurlitt's collection determined more than a year ago the work was sold as a result of Nazi persecution.
Minister Monika Gruetters' office said she returned Menzel's "Interior of a Gothic Church" on Monday to a representative of Elsa Cohen's heirs. Cohen sold the piece to Gurlitt's father in 1938.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The drawing was identified as looted art in late 2015, but the German government said its restitution was delayed by a court battle over Gurlitt's will that only was resolved in December. A cousin of Gurlitt's unsuccessfully challenged his wish to leave his collection to a Swiss museum.