Investigators in Germany have said in a press conference that the man in whose flat the works were found had been questioned by them but that they were not expecting to question him again. They also said that they did not know where he, Cornelius Gurlitt was, but that they knew of a way to make contact with him. According to the BBC: 'This indicates that they do not suspect him of any major crime.'  Mr Gurlitt's father, Hildebrand, was the one who acquired the collection - which includes works by Chagall and Matisse - in the 1930s and 1940s and, 'may well have come by them within the law at the time', adds the BBC. 

Difficult to prove

Descendants of previous owners may well question ownership but 'lawyers say that it will be very difficult for anyone to argue that they now have entitlement' as the paintings were taken from German galleries in 1938 when they were deemed indecent for public consumption in Nazi Germany.  In the US, lawyers are already criticising the way events are developing. For instance, the authorities in Germany are not publishing an inventory which families can look at to see if they might have a claim. New York lawyer, according to the International Business Times, has taken calls from more than 30 families. He says it is 'a huge disservice to the families' not to give more details and images of the art works.