There was a surprise reversal in the now-famous restitution case of the Goudstikker Cranachs that are now at the Norton Simon museum. Jacques Goudstikker’s collection of 1300 works were bought by the Nazis under duress but the Dutch government made a partial settlement with his widow:
In 2012, a district judge ruled against Ms. Von Saher, saying that the United States had fulfilled its obligations to restitute the art, and that any effort to alter the Dutch resolution of the case would interfere with the federal government’s sole authority over foreign policy. But the appeals panel noted that the United States had signed two international agreements — one in Washington in 1998, and another in Terezin, Czech Republic, in 2009 — intended to remove obstacles to the recovery of possessions stolen by the Nazis. The Norton Simon released a statement saying it “remains confident that it holds complete and proper title” to the paintings and that it would “continue to pursue, consistent with its fiduciary duties, all appropriate legal options.”
Her lawyer, Herrick Feinstein’s Lawrence Kaye, added some more detail from the opinion:
In its decision, the Court ruled that Ms. von Saher’s claim can proceed because a judicial ruling on its merits would not be an intrusion on the power to conduct foreign affairs that the U.S. Constitution reserves to the Federal Government. As the Court stated, “Not only do we find an absence of conflict between Von Saher’s claims and federal policy, but we believe her claims are in concert with that policy. Von Saher is just the sort of heir that the Washington Principles and Terezin Declaration encouraged to come forward to make claims…. Perhaps most importantly, this litigation may provide Von Saher an opportunity to achieve a just and fair outcome to rectify the consequences of the forced transaction with Göring during the war….”
Nazi Art-Looting Case May Proceed, Court Rules (NYTimes.com)
