Nazi heir surrenders painting looted from Amsterdam to Argentine authorities
The Argentine Public Prosecutor’s Office has the painting Portrait of a Lady by Italian painter Giuseppe Ghislandi in its possession. The daughter of Nazi Friedrich Kadgien has surrendered the work, which was looted from the Goudstikker collection in Amsterdam during World War II. What will happen next is unclear.
The 18th-century work was in the collection of Amsterdam art trader Jacques Goudstikker. During the war, it ended up in the possession of Nazi official Friedrich Kadgien. It is assumed that the work remained in the family after his death and ended up with one of his daughters. Dutch journalists spotted the oil painting in a listing of the daughter’s home in Argentina last month. But when the authorities went to raid the address, it wasn’t there.
On Wednesday, the Argentine Public Prosecutor’s Office announced in a press conference that the painting had been recovered, the local newspaper La Nacion reported. Kadgien’s daughter and her husband had been placed under house arrest while the authorities searched for the painting and surrendered it before their appearance in court, according to the newspaper.
What will happen now is unclear. The Argentine authorities said they were investigating who the painting belongs to. The Kadgien family has reportedly filed a request to keep it, arguing that the artwork has been in their possession for many years and that the statute of limitations has lapsed. The Goudstikker family wants the work back.
