Nazi Looted Painting Restituted to Marei von Saher, Jacques Goudstikker’s Sole Heir, After 83 Years
December 8, 2023 – Press Release
Nazi Looted Painting Restituted to Marei von Saher, Jacques Goudstikker’s Sole Heir, After 83 Years
This restitution and the perseverance of Marei von Saher and her family to reclaim Goudstikker’s looted collection serves as a reminder of their on-going plight to restore the family’s legacy
New York, NY – December 7, 2023 – Today, Kaye Spiegler, has announced the restitution of a painting looted by the Nazis during WWII from the collection of Jacques Goudstikker, a prominent Dutch Jewish art dealer. The painting has been returned to Marei von Saher, the daughter-in-law and sole heir of Goudstikker.
The recovered painting, Adam and Eve, attributed to Cornelis van Haarlem, was recently offered for donation to Musée Rolin located in Autun, France. During the evaluation process of the painting, a Goudstikker label found on the back of the painting raised suspicions about its provenance. Upon further inspection, it was discovered that Adam and Eve is one of more than 1,300 paintings that had been looted from Goudstikker’s collection while he and his family fled The Netherlands during WWII.
The donors were unaware of the painting’s troubled history and, with the assistance of Musée Rolin, were put in contact with Ms. von Saher to notify her of the discovery of the painting.
“I am deeply appreciative of the efforts that led to the recovery of this piece of our family’s history. It is so gratifying to see justice achieved and have this painting returned to its rightful owners,” said von Saher.
Musée Rolin will hold a presentation ceremony for Adam and Eve on Wednesday, December 13th at 6:30 p.m. at the Hall of Honor in the Autun Town Hall to recognize the painting as well as the important work of all those involved in ensuring that it was returned to the heir of its rightful owner.
“To see this painting returned after so many years marks a historic moment in the field of restitution,” said Yaél M. Weitz of Kaye Spiegler, counsel on the case. “While this is a huge achievement, there are still thousands of Nazi-looted artworks that need to be returned – the Goudstikker family alone is still in search of hundreds of remaining pieces of art from his collection.”
“This latest restitution demonstrates the impressive impact that cooperation between museums and those seeking the return of looted artworks and antiquities can have in these matters,” said Amelia Keuning, co-counsel for Ms. von Saher. “In this particular case, Musée Rolin's provenance research was essential in identifying this painting as part of Goudstikker’s collection. It’s critical that museums across the globe adopt strict provenance protocols to aid in the continued search for remaining Nazi-looted artworks.”
The restitution of Goudstikker’s art collection has been a decades-long endeavor. In 2006, after more than eight years of a restitution campaign led by Ms. von Saher, her Dutch legal team and advisors and lawyers now at art law firm Kaye Spiegler, the Dutch government agreed to return more than 200 artworks from the Goudstikker collection, in one of the largest restitutions in the history of art stolen by the Nazis. Despite this victory, there still remain many missing paintings from Goudstikker’s collection and the search for these works is ongoing.
About Kaye Spiegler
Kaye Spiegler is a leading art law firm focused on complex art litigation and dispute resolution, and regularly handles a broad range of notable restitution and commercial art law matters. The firm has successfully aided clients in the recovery of looted art and cultural property, and has a long-standing commitment to representing claimants in the return of Nazi-looted art.
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