Long-Fought Case Over Contested Pissarro Masterpiece Hits Federal Appeals Court
- December 05, 2016 13:08
A 16-year battle over an Impressionist masterpiece once looted by the Nazis went to a federal appeals court in Pasadena on Monday.
Decades ago, the painting was exchanged for exit visas by Lilly Cassirer and her husband so that they could flee the Holocaust.
The Jewish couple fled Germany for England in 1939. Their Pissarro from 1897, an oil-on-canvas titled "Rue St.-Honore, Apres-Midi, Effet de Pluie," went on its own international journey.
Reports the AP, the Pissarro passed through the hands of several wealthy collectors and prominent art dealers and, finally, to Spain's Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum, where it has resided since 1993.
The court is again asked to weigh state law and international treaties in regards to the Parisian street scene which was appraised at more than $30 million. Lawyers for the heirs contend it belongs to Cassirer's great-grandchildren.
