Judith H. Dobrzynski
Encyclopedia
Judith Helen Dobrzynski (born March 8, 1949) is an American
journalist and instructor in journalism.
She is currently a freelance writer who has contributed articles on culture, the arts, business, philanthropy and other topics to The New York Times
, The Wall Street Journal
and several magazines.
She also writes opinion columns and commentaries, and has contributed op-eds to the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times
, the Wall Street Journal, the Chicago Tribune
and the Boston Globe.
In March, 2009, she became a blogger, writing about culture in America at ArtsJournal.com.
She has been editor of the Sunday "Money & Business" section of the New York Times as well as a reporter for the newspaper, a senior editor of Business Week and, most recently, the executive editor and managing editor of CNBC
, the cable television business network.
.
While Dobrzynski was an arts reporter at the New York Times, she wrote an investigative article about the Museum of Modern Art
's exhibition of paintings owned by Rudolph Leopold, a Viennese doctor and art collector. (Many of those works are now on view at the Leopold Museum
in Vienna).
Her article told the story of Portrait of Wally
by Egon Schiele
, which had been taken from its Jewish owner, Leah Bondi Jaray, in the Nazi era and later purchased by Leopold. Soon after the story was published, the Manhattan District Attorney
Robert Morgenthau started proceedings to help restore the piece to descendants of its owner. After years of legal wranglings, the ownership of the painting was decided in an out-of-court settlement in July, 2010: The Leopold Museum agreed to pay Bondi's heirs $19 million for the portrait and to permanently display, wherever the painting is on view, the correct accounting of its ownership "including Lea Bondi Jaray’s prior ownership of the Painting and its theft from her by a Nazi agent before she fled to London in 1939."
A documentary about the case is in production.
Nevertheless, the outrage that followed Dobrzynski's articles helped persuade Austria to change its laws. Austrian Culture Minister Elizabeth Gehrer specifically mentioned uproar about "Portrait of Wally" when she announced the policy change in March 1998,
and again when she sent a draft law on the restitution of art confiscated by the Nazis to Parliament in September 1998.
Dobrzynski has also written many other articles about Nazi-looted art.
In May 2000, Dobrzynski began a series of articles in the New York Times about art fraud on eBay
auctions,
which later lead to an investigative piece disclosing the widespread practice of shill bidding on eBay.
That story prompted the Federal Bureau of Investigation
to step in, and resulted in the prosecution of several shill-bidders. One, Kenneth Walton, eventually wrote a book called Fake: Forgery, Lies, & eBay
in which Dobrzynski is a character.
Dobrzynski was a Knight fellow at the Salzburg Global Seminar in 2002, and has twice returned as a fellow for additional sessions.
and received an honors degree in journalism from Syracuse University
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
journalist and instructor in journalism.
She is currently a freelance writer who has contributed articles on culture, the arts, business, philanthropy and other topics to The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
and several magazines.
She also writes opinion columns and commentaries, and has contributed op-eds to the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
, the Wall Street Journal, the Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
and the Boston Globe.
In March, 2009, she became a blogger, writing about culture in America at ArtsJournal.com.
She has been editor of the Sunday "Money & Business" section of the New York Times as well as a reporter for the newspaper, a senior editor of Business Week and, most recently, the executive editor and managing editor of CNBC
CNBC
CNBC is a satellite and cable television business news channel in the U.S., owned and operated by NBCUniversal. The network and its international spinoffs cover business headlines and provide live coverage of financial markets. The combined reach of CNBC and its siblings is 390 million viewers...
, the cable television business network.
Career
Dobrzynski, in the 1980s, while she was at Business Week, was one of the first journalists to write about activist shareholders and the importance of good corporate governanceCorporate governance
Corporate governance is a number of processes, customs, policies, laws, and institutions which have impact on the way a company is controlled...
.
While Dobrzynski was an arts reporter at the New York Times, she wrote an investigative article about the Museum of Modern Art
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art is an art museum in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, on 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It has been important in developing and collecting modernist art, and is often identified as the most influential museum of modern art in the world...
's exhibition of paintings owned by Rudolph Leopold, a Viennese doctor and art collector. (Many of those works are now on view at the Leopold Museum
Leopold Museum
The Leopold Museum, housed in the Museumsquartier in Vienna, Austria, is home to one of the largest collections of modern Austrian art, featuring artists such as Egon Schiele, Gustav Klimt, Oskar Kokoschka and Richard Gerstl....
in Vienna).
Her article told the story of Portrait of Wally
Portrait of Wally
Portrait of Wally is a 1912 oil painting by Austrian painter Egon Schiele of Valerie "Wally" Neuzil, a woman he met in 1911 when she was 17 years old and who was a model for a number of Schiele's most striking paintings...
by Egon Schiele
Egon Schiele
Egon Schiele was an Austrian painter. A protégé of Gustav Klimt, Schiele was a major figurative painter of the early 20th century. His work is noted for its intensity, and the many self-portraits the artist produced...
, which had been taken from its Jewish owner, Leah Bondi Jaray, in the Nazi era and later purchased by Leopold. Soon after the story was published, the Manhattan District Attorney
New York County District Attorney
The New York County District Attorney is the elected district attorney for New York County , New York. The office is responsible for the prosecution of violations of New York state laws....
Robert Morgenthau started proceedings to help restore the piece to descendants of its owner. After years of legal wranglings, the ownership of the painting was decided in an out-of-court settlement in July, 2010: The Leopold Museum agreed to pay Bondi's heirs $19 million for the portrait and to permanently display, wherever the painting is on view, the correct accounting of its ownership "including Lea Bondi Jaray’s prior ownership of the Painting and its theft from her by a Nazi agent before she fled to London in 1939."
A documentary about the case is in production.
Nevertheless, the outrage that followed Dobrzynski's articles helped persuade Austria to change its laws. Austrian Culture Minister Elizabeth Gehrer specifically mentioned uproar about "Portrait of Wally" when she announced the policy change in March 1998,
and again when she sent a draft law on the restitution of art confiscated by the Nazis to Parliament in September 1998.
Dobrzynski has also written many other articles about Nazi-looted art.
In May 2000, Dobrzynski began a series of articles in the New York Times about art fraud on eBay
EBay
eBay Inc. is an American internet consumer-to-consumer corporation that manages eBay.com, an online auction and shopping website in which people and businesses buy and sell a broad variety of goods and services worldwide...
auctions,
which later lead to an investigative piece disclosing the widespread practice of shill bidding on eBay.
That story prompted the Federal Bureau of Investigation
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
to step in, and resulted in the prosecution of several shill-bidders. One, Kenneth Walton, eventually wrote a book called Fake: Forgery, Lies, & eBay
Fake: Forgery, Lies, & eBay
FAKE: Forgery, Lies, & eBay is a memoir by Kenneth Walton that describes how he sold forged paintings on the online auction website eBay, and details the high-profile scandal that led to him being convicted for fraud by the federal government....
in which Dobrzynski is a character.
Dobrzynski was a Knight fellow at the Salzburg Global Seminar in 2002, and has twice returned as a fellow for additional sessions.
Personal
Dobrzynski grew up in Rochester, New YorkRochester, New York
Rochester is a city in Monroe County, New York, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. Known as The World's Image Centre, it was also once known as The Flour City, and more recently as The Flower City...
and received an honors degree in journalism from Syracuse University
Syracuse University
Syracuse University is a private research university located in Syracuse, New York, United States. Its roots can be traced back to Genesee Wesleyan Seminary, founded by the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1832, which also later founded Genesee College...
.