Swiss museum urged to accept Gurlitt collection

BERLIN (AP) - A Swiss museum is being urged to accept a German collector’s huge art trove by the descendants of a Paris art dealer who’ve been determined the rightful owners of one of the pieces.

Cornelius Gurlitt died in May and designated the Kunstmuseum Bern as sole heir to his long-hidden collection. The museum will announce Monday whether it will accept the bequest; on Friday, it denied reports it’s already decided in favor.

A German task force investigating the art found that Henri Matisse’s “Woman Sitting in an Armchair” was looted by the Nazis and rightly belongs to the descendants of art dealer Paul Rosenberg.

Lawyer Chris Marinello, who represents the Rosenberg family, urged the museum “to accept the Gurlitt bequest and to resolve expeditiously any issues over Nazi-looted works of art.”