Jewish man sold painting to Nazi art dealer. Now heirs sue Texas museum to get it back

The heirs of a Jewish man who sold three paintings to one of Adolf Hitler’s art dealers amid Nazi Germany’s “systematic persecution of European Jews” are suing a Texas art museum now in possession of one of the pieces, arguing their grandfather felt “forced” to sell it.

“The Emden Heirs are the rightful owners of this family heirloom that was separated from their grandfather Dr. (Max) Emden by the racist persecution of Nazi Germany and is currently in the art collection of Defendant The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston,” the federal lawsuit filed Oct. 12, 2021, says.

The museum disagrees, arguing in a March 24 statement that the judge should dismiss the case on the grounds that the man voluntarily sold his painting and received the proceeds.

The painting in question is known as “The Marketplace at Pirna” by Bernardo Bellotto.

“At no time has it ever been alleged that the painting was stolen. Nor did Emden’s son, Han Erich Emden, who inherited his father’s estate and island (after his father died of natural causes in 1940), ever file a claim to the painting,” the museum said in a statement to McClatchy News. “No new information has come to light that alters the 1938 voluntary sale that Emden initiated. Therefore, the museum has taken the appropriate steps to seek dismissal on multiple grounds.”

The judge said he’d announce his decision on whether the lawsuit would move to a court trial at a later date, according to the Houston Chronicle.

In the lawsuit, the legal team of Chilean grandchildren Juan Carlos Emden, Nicolás Emden and Michel Emden argue that Max Emden’s 1938 sale of the painting was in direct correlation to Nazi Germany’s “handiwork of evil” toward Jews prior to World War II.

They say his assets were frozen and he was required to register all his property with the Nazi Government.

Facing “economic hardship,” prosecuting attorneys say Max Emden sold his paintings to a German art dealer collecting art for Hitler’s Führermuseum in Austria. In U.S. dollars, the three works of art were sold for $13,755 — $4,585 per painting — which was “well below market.” The low sale confirms he sold the “valuable” paintings to finance his cost of living, his descendants say.

Years later, in 1945, the Monuments Men and Women — “a group of American and British museum curators, art historians and professors, librarians, architects, and artists attached to the Civil Affairs Division of the Western Allied armies” found “The Marketplace at Pirna” by Bernardo Bellotto painting in an Austria salt mine alongside thousands of other works destined for Hitler’s art gallery, according to the lawsuit.

The heirs say the Monuments Men and Women accidentally included the Bellotto painting (known as Emden 1025 Pirna) with a shipment of stolen art to the Netherlands. The group requested Dutch officials return the artwork, but it had already been given to a German art dealer in New York City.

“When the German art dealer received the Emden 1025 Pirna, he created a false provenance to make the work marketable and removed identifying labels from the back of the painting and frame that would have shown Emden’s prior ownership and the Führermuseum’s subsequent possession,” the lawsuit says. “In 1952, the dealer sold the Emden 1025 Pirna under the false provenance to a prominent U.S. collector.”

And almost a decade later, in 1961, the collector donated the piece to The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.

Now the heirs want the painting, valued at over $75,000, back in their family’s possession.

“For years, whether through choice or willful ignorance, the Museum obfuscated facts and dismissed evidence of the Emden 1025 Pirna’s true provenance, refusing even to take reasonable steps common to major museums with such immense resources to confirm the correct provenance (and ownership) of the Emden 1025 Pirna including denying the Emden Heirs an opportunity to personally inspect the painting and its original frame for identifying marks,” the lawsuit states.

The other two paintings Max Emden sold have since been returned to his heirs by a German commission after it was found that he sold the artwork “due to persecution,” according to the Chronicle. At the time of the return, the commission thought the third painting he sold had been lost.

This story was originally published March 28, 2022 at 12:47 PM with the headline "Jewish man sold painting to Nazi art dealer. Now heirs sue Texas museum to get it back."