Art Institute to Return Painting Forcibly Sold During World War II to Heirs of Jewish Collector
- On Tuesday, the Art Institute of Chicago announced it will return the 1913 painting "Woman with a Fan" by Jean Metzinger to the heirs of Emmanuel Lewenstein, a Jewish art collector whose family was persecuted by the Nazis.
- Researchers confirmed the painting was sold under duress during the 1940 Nazi occupation of Amsterdam; infrared imaging later revealed the name of dealer Paul Citroen on the back, linking the work to the Lewenstein Collection.
- Dr. Jacques Schuhmacher, executive director of provenance research, credited a collaborative exchange with the Toronto-based Mondex Corporation for identifying the provenance. This partnership allowed the museum to confirm the painting's history and restore agency to the heirs.
- The Art Institute has removed the work from public display while arranging its return to the Lewenstein heirs. Schuhmacher stated this action reflects the museum's commitment to prioritizing provenance research when new evidence clarifies a work's history.
- This restitution contrasts sharply with the museum's ongoing dispute over Egon Schiele's 1916 drawing "Russian War Prisoner," as a New York appellate court recently ruled against its seizure, citing insufficient evidence of Nazi looting.
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The state painting collections want to continue the examination of their holdings.
Art Institute of Chicago Is Returning Painting to Heirs of Jewish Owner After It Was Seized by Nazis
The Nazis forced the sale of the piece during an auction in October 1940, months after the invasion of the NetherlandsThe Art Institute of Chicago in 2022Credit: Raymond Boyd/GettyNEED TO KNOWThe Art Institute of Chicago said on Tuesday, Sept. 22 that it will return a 1913 painting to the heirs of Emmanuel Lewenstein, a Jewish art collectorThe Nazis forced Woman with a Fan by Jean Metzinger to be sold during an October 1940 auction in Amsterdam,…
Art Institute to Return Painting Forcibly Sold During World War II to Heirs of Jewish Collector
The 1913 artwork “Woman with a Fan” by cubist painter Jean Metzinger is returning to the family of Jewish art collector after the museum discovered it was part of a forced sale during World War II.
NY, Bavarian authorities return Nazi-stolen art to German-Jewish woman's heirs
“The return of this painting corrects a longstanding historical wrong and restores to us an important piece of our heritage,” stated Paul Laporte, a great-grandson of the prior owner of the work, Sofie Heilbronner.
Art Institute of Chicago to return looted Holocaust-era painting to family of persecuted art collector
The 1913 Jean Metzinger painting will return to the family of late art collector Emanuel Lewenstein, whose family was persecuted after Nazis took control of the Netherlands — and looted the work — amid World War II.
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