A US appeals court ruled that Madrid’s Thyssen-Bornemisza museum may keep a painting by Camille Pissarro, looted by the Nazis from a Jewish woman, rejecting the ownership claim by her heirs. The painting, "Rue Saint Honore, Afternoon, Rain Effect," was stolen in 1939 and purchased by the museum in 1993. The court's decision was based on applying Spanish law, as it outweighed California's interest in deterring theft and obtaining recoveries for victims of stolen art. The heirs' lawyers plan to seek review by an 11-judge 9th Circuit panel, arguing against Spain's insistence on harboring Nazi-looted art.
In a long-running Nazi art restitution case, a U.S. Court of Appeals ruled in favor of a Spanish museum, allowing it to keep a valuable Pissarro painting that was surrendered by a Jewish woman to the Nazis in 1939. The court determined that Spanish law applies to the case, granting the museum ownership of the painting. The heirs of the original owner, who have been in a legal battle with the museum since 2005, plan to seek an en banc review. Despite the legal ruling, a judge expressed the belief that the museum still has a moral duty to return the painting.
A US appeals court has ruled that a Madrid museum can keep a Nazi-looted painting by Camille Pissarro, despite it being stolen from a Jewish family during World War II. The decision, while unanimous, has sparked controversy, with one judge expressing hope that Spain would voluntarily return the artwork to the family. The painting, valued at $30m, has been at the center of a legal battle between the museum and the heirs of the Jewish refugees from whom it was stolen.
