Earlier this month, we brought you news of the discovery of more than 1,500 paintings looted into quarantine by Nazis, including masterpieces by Chagall, Picasso, Klee, and Matisse. Now, long-lost paintings plundered by the Third Reich are finding their way back into the hands of proper owners and into public view.
A life-size baroque-era painting of St. Catherine of Alexandria, painted by Bernardo Strozzi around 1615, found its way back to its owner, Philippa Calnan, last week. Calnan, the former director of public affairs at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, immediately promised the errant artwork to his former employer. The painting was installed Monday in the museum’s galleries of European art.
The turn of events is remarkable, considering lost paintings such as this are usually immediately sold, in order to cover restitution claims for multiple generations of estate holders. The painting first appeared on the market five years ago; however, due to its questionable status, Sotheby’s rejected the listing, according to The Los Angeles Times.
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[via The Los Angeles Times]
