Does Nazi-looted painting belong to Holocaust survivor's family or museum that later bought it?

This May 12, 2005, file photo shows an unidentified visitor viewing the Impressionist painting called "Rue St.-Honore, Apres-Midi, Effet de Pluie," in Madrid. The Supreme Court is hearing the case about the stolen artwork.

This May 12, 2005, file photo shows an unidentified visitor viewing the Impressionist painting called "Rue St.-Honore, Apres-Midi, Effet de Pluie," in Madrid. The Supreme Court is hearing the case about the stolen artwork. (Matriana Eliano)


64
Save Story
Leer en español

Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes

KEY TAKEAWAYS
  • The U.S. Supreme Court has ordered a reexamination of a legal battle over a Nazi-looted painting.
  • The Cassirer family seeks the return of Pissarro's painting from Madrid's Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum.
  • The museum claims ownership under Spanish law but faces pressure to return the artwork.

SALT LAKE CITY — An impressionist painting worth tens of millions of dollars is at the heart of an ongoing legal battle between the family of a Holocaust survivor and a Spanish museum that bought it 25 years ago.

The family of Lilly Cassirer has sought the return of Camille Pissarro's "Rue St. Honoré, dans l'après-midi. Effet de pluie" for two decades. Their quest has played out in federal courts in California and before the U.S. Supreme Court.

On Monday, the high court overturned a lower court ruling awarding the work to a Madrid museum that has long argued it can lay claim under Spanish law to the 1897 oil painting, according to the Washington Post.

The painting once hung in the parlor of Cassirer's home in Germany. Her descendants call it a "family treasure" and argue the museum has both a moral imperative to return it and a duty under international treaties.

The Supreme Court ordered a federal appeals court in California to reexamine the case after a California law passed last year in response to the case that makes it easier for victims of persecution to recover stolen property, per the Post.

David Cassirer, the great-grandson of Lilly Cassirer, poses for a photo outside the Supreme Court in Washington, Jan. 18, 2022. Lilly Cassirer surrendered her family's priceless Camille Pissarro painting to the Nazis in exchange for safe passage out of Germany during the Holocaust. The Supreme Court is hearing the case about the stolen artwork now in the collection of a Spanish museum in Madrid.
David Cassirer, the great-grandson of Lilly Cassirer, poses for a photo outside the Supreme Court in Washington, Jan. 18, 2022. Lilly Cassirer surrendered her family's priceless Camille Pissarro painting to the Nazis in exchange for safe passage out of Germany during the Holocaust. The Supreme Court is hearing the case about the stolen artwork now in the collection of a Spanish museum in Madrid. (Photo: Susan Walsh)

Ownership dispute

"We hope Spain and its museum will now do the right thing and return the Nazi-looted art they are holding without further delay," said David Boies, an attorney for the family. He said the Thyssen-Bornemisza National Museum in Madrid would be subject to the jurisdiction of the court despite being overseas.

Thaddeus J. Stauber, an attorney for the museum, told the Post in a statement that the museum would continue to fight to keep the painting in Spain, while also making its pre-World War II ownership clear.

"The foundation, as it has for the past 20 years, looks forward to working with all concerned to once again ensure that its ownership is confirmed with the painting remaining on public display in Madrid," he said.

Known in English as "St. Honoré Street in the afternoon. Effect of rain," Pissarro, one of the major artists of the impressionist movement, painted the work from the window of a hotel where he stayed late in his career.

Cassirer's family bought the painting from Pissarro's art dealer in 1900. Cassirer was forced by the Nazis to sell the work in 1939 to obtain exit visas to flee Germany, a fact the museum does not dispute.

This May 10, 2005, file photo shows Claude Cassirer of San Diego with his wife, Beverly, in Cleveland Heights, Ohio. Cassirer had filed a federal court lawsuit to get back a classic painting taken from his grandmother, Lilly Cassirer, a Jewish woman who surrendered her priceless Camille Pissarro painting, "Rue St.-Honore, Apres-Midi, Effet de Pluie," to escape the Holocaust. A federal judge in Los Angeles ruled Tuesday, April 30, 2019, that the Thyssen-Bornemisza museum in Madrid that acquired the priceless, Nazi-looted painting in 1992 is the work's rightful owner.
This May 10, 2005, file photo shows Claude Cassirer of San Diego with his wife, Beverly, in Cleveland Heights, Ohio. Cassirer had filed a federal court lawsuit to get back a classic painting taken from his grandmother, Lilly Cassirer, a Jewish woman who surrendered her priceless Camille Pissarro painting, "Rue St.-Honore, Apres-Midi, Effet de Pluie," to escape the Holocaust. A federal judge in Los Angeles ruled Tuesday, April 30, 2019, that the Thyssen-Bornemisza museum in Madrid that acquired the priceless, Nazi-looted painting in 1992 is the work's rightful owner. (Photo: Mark Duncan)

The painting was sold and resold until eventually ending up in the United States. Baron Hans Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza, a wealthy Swiss art collector, bought the painting from a New York gallery. He later loaned the painting to Spain, and it was displayed at the museum named after him starting in 1992. The museum purchased the painting the next year, the Post reported.

Claude Cassirer, grandson of Lilly Cassirer, learned that the painting was at the Thyssen-Bornemisza in 2000 and petitioned Spain and the museum to return it. After the request was denied, he filed suit in 2005 in federal court in California, citing a law that strips foreign countries of immunity in U.S. courts in cases when property is taken in violation of international law.

The museum has said it didn't know the painting was stolen when it was purchased.

Nazi looting

The Nazi Party leadership's interest in art arose early on, and art confiscations began by 1938, according to the National Archives. Soon after its rise to power in 1933, the party purged so-called "degenerate art" from German public institutions.

Artworks deemed degenerate by the Nazis included modern French and German artists in the areas of cubism, expressionism and impressionism. About 16,000 pieces were removed, and by 1938 the Nazi Party declared that all German art museums were "purified."

The Key Takeaways for this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team. The article, itself, is solely human-written.

Most recent Entertainment stories

Related topics

EntertainmentU.S.
Dennis Romboy, Deseret NewsDennis Romboy
Dennis Romboy is an editor and reporter for the Deseret News. He has covered a variety of beats over the years, including state and local government, social issues and courts. A Utah native, Romboy earned a degree in journalism from the University of Utah. He enjoys cycling, snowboarding and running.

STAY IN THE KNOW

Get informative articles and interesting stories delivered to your inbox weekly. Subscribe to the KSL.com Trending 5.
By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Newsletter Signup