Portrait of Emmy von Ostrowski

Presumably painted by F. X. Winterhalter on behalf of Prince August of Prussia; remained in the family through the line of inheritance; Mrs. Johanna von Ostrowski worked at the Ullstein book publishing house in Berlin. Around March 1945, she asked Theo Schmidt, the property manager at the time, to find a safe place to store the painting. The painting was taken to a wooden rack in one of the bunkers in the basement in Charlottenstraße, in the bunker that a certain Mr. Böttcher had reserved for particularly valuable items belonging to the publishing house; at the beginning of May 1945, in the Kochstraße block, the bunkers were opened by occupying forces and the most valuable items were taken out. There were also some paintings belonging to the publishing house. But after leaving the site, the bunker was looted again. Less important paintings, which were kept alongside the valuable ones, were left behind, so it can be concluded that experts were at work. Mrs. von Ostrowski's well-packaged painting also disappeared at that time.