Pissarro Captured By The Nazis To Be Sold At Auction After Families Settled


The Pissarro painting, which is at the center of the dispute between the heirs of a Jewish couple whose art collection was confiscated by the Nazis before the Second World War, and the heirs of a Jewish family who bought it in 1994, will be sold at auction next month after the two sides. agreement was reached.

Details of the deal were not disclosed, but Christie’s has estimated between $1.2 and $1.8 million for “The Anse des Pilotes, Le Havre,” which it plans to sell on May 14 in New York.

When Ludwig and Margret Kainer left Germany in 1932, with Hitler coming to power, they left an art collection, including Pissarro. Relatives have filed a claim for the painting since 2015 and to sue Gerald D. Horowitz’s family to get him back last year.

Lawyers for the family said Horowitz purchased the painting from a dealer in New York after investigating whether the painting had been stolen.

Among the reasons the dispute gained attention was the debut of Stuart E. Eizenstat, a diplomat and lawyer who helped write the landmark. Washington Principles He was involved in an individual extradition case used to guide extradition requests worldwide.

In announcing the settlement, the parties released a statement, in part, saying: “This decision is fully consistent with the ‘just and equitable settlement’ of the Washington Principles on Nazi-Confiscated Art, “acknowledging that this may vary based on the facts and circumstances surrounding a particular case.”

In an interview, Mr. Eizenstat said he agreed to work for the Horowitz family because of the family’s respected reputation in the Atlanta Jewish community and because he was a childhood friend of Mr. Horowitz’s wife, Pearlann Horowitz. since grammar school.

As the agreement document shows, we are convinced that they bought this painting in purely good faith,” he said, adding that the decision was a “validation” of the principles with which it helped negotiate.

The oil-on-canvas painting depicting a harbor scene was made by Pissarro in 1903 and is one of his last works before he died that year.

After leaving Germany, the Kainers were unable to return home safely after the Nazis seized power, and in their absence, their world-class art collections and other furniture were confiscated by the Berlin tax office and sold at auction in Berlin to pay off a Reich. The flight tax is a financial tool often used to punish Jews who have fled the country.

In 2014, the Horowitz family loaned the piece for display at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta. During this time, he was identified by Mondex, which pursued compensation claims and represented the Kainer heirs.

Kainers, who eventually settled in France, died childless in the 1960s, and the heirs claiming the painting are the children and grandchildren of cousins.

Christie’s said the deal resolves the dispute over ownership of the painting and the title of the work will pass to the successful bidder.

There are several more paintings from the Kainers collection that were sold alongside Pissarro in Berlin in 1935. already treated like looted goods. For example, Christie’s also sold Edgar Degas’ “Danseuses”, which was once owned by Kainers, for approximately $11 million in 2009 as part of a return deal.



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