A Nazi-looted 18th-century painting, 'Portrait of a Lady' by Giacomo Ceruti, has been returned to the heirs of Dutch Jewish art dealer Jacques Goudstikker after it was discovered in a real estate listing photo in Argentina, ending an 80-year search.
An Argentine federal judge has ordered the restitution of 'Portrait of a Lady,' an 18th-century painting by Giacomo Ceruti, to the heirs of Dutch Jewish art dealer Jacques Goudstikker. The masterpiece, looted by Nazis during World War II, was astonishingly found in a real estate listing photo for a house in Mar del Plata, Argentina, belonging to Patricia Kadgien, daughter of Nazi official Friedrich Kadgien. Goudstikker, who built a vast art collection, died fleeing the Nazis in 1940, and his gallery was subsequently stripped. A Dutch journalist, tracking the Goudstikker collection, identified the painting in the online listing. Legal action followed, leading to a raid where the painting had been removed from the listing, but investigators gathered crucial evidence. Patricia Kadgien and her husband were charged with concealment but ultimately surrendered claims to the $288,000 painting and made a donation to a children's hospital, suspending their criminal case. This marks the first time Argentina has restituted a Nazi-looted painting, though hundreds more from Goudstikker's collection remain missing worldwide.
