Argentine Court Approves Return of Nazi-Looted Portrait to Jewish Dealer's Heir

Deal Ends Long Search for Looted Masterpiece

An Argentine court on Friday approved an agreement to return a long-lost 18th-century painting, looted from a Dutch Jewish art dealer during the Nazi occupation, to his sole surviving heir. The decision ends a generations-long search for 'Portrait of a Lady,' which had been missing for eight decades.

Judge Santiago Inchausti of a Buenos Aires court declared, "An order will be issued for the painting to be returned to the heir" of Jacques Goudstikker, following the agreement reached between the parties. The painting will be returned to Marei von Saher, Goudstikker's daughter-in-law and heir.

The deal, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press, involves Patricia Kadgien, daughter of late Nazi official Friedrich Kadgien, and her husband Juan Carlos Cortegoso. They agreed to give up any claim to the work and consent to its return in exchange for avoiding a criminal trial and spending two years under court supervision. During that period, they must make payments to a hospital in Argentina's coastal city of Mar del Plata and keep authorities informed of their whereabouts.

Nazi-Era Looting and the Painting's History

Goudstikker's celebrated collection, which included more than 1,000 artworks, was sold under duress to Nazi officials after Adolf Hitler's Germany invaded the Netherlands in 1940. 'Portrait of a Lady' was among those works lost during the occupation.

Friedrich Kadgien, a financial adviser to the Nazi SS and to Hermann Göring, fled to Argentina after the Second World War. He was one of several high-ranking Nazis who escaped to South America. The exact circumstances of how the painting came into Kadgien's possession remain unclear.

Discovery in an Online Listing

The painting's existence came to light last year after Dutch reporters investigating Friedrich Kadgien spotted it hanging above a green velvet couch in an online real estate listing for his daughter's home in Mar del Plata. The listing disappeared within hours of the Rotterdam-based newspaper Algemeen Dagblad publishing its findings. Police raided the home several times but failed to find the painting. More than a week later, Kadgien's lawyer turned it over to authorities.

Patricia Kadgien, who clutched a rosary during the hearing in Mar del Plata, and her husband were charged with aggravated cover-up last year. Authorities said they hid the painting despite knowing it was being sought by Argentine and international investigators. During last year's raids on homes owned by Kadgien and her sister, Argentine police also seized two 19th-century paintings and other prints and engravings.

Attribution and Authentication

For decades, the portrait was identified as a work by Italian Baroque painter Giuseppe Vittore Ghislandi. However, a court-ordered examination by Argentina's National Academy of Fine Arts attributed the work to Giacomo Antonio Melchiorre Ceruti. Experts authenticated the painting as part of the Goudstikker collection and estimated its value at about €250,000 ($403,500).

Next Steps and Ongoing Obligations

The painting is currently under the care of Argentina's Supreme Court, and it is now up to von Saher's legal team to initiate its return. Lawyers for von Saher, who lives in Greenwich, Connecticut, said she has agreed to let the painting be exhibited in Argentina before its return. Under the agreement, Patricia Kadgien and her husband also agreed to give about US$3,200 to local hospitals and other charities.