Despite previous court rulings affirming a Spanish museum’s legal ownership of an Impressionist painting stolen by Nazis in 1939, the U.S. Supreme Court has provided a significant victory to the descendants of its original owners. This decision could lead to the artwork’s return to the family that once displayed it in their Berlin home.
The painting, “Rue Saint-Honoré in the Afternoon. Effect of Rain,” was created by Camille Pissarro in 1897-98 and is valued at approximately $40 million. It was initially purchased by German-Jewish art dealer Paul Cassirer in 1900. Upon his death, it was inherited by Lilly Cassirer, who was later forced by the Nazis in 1939 to surrender the artwork in exchange for an exit visa to England. Believing the painting to be lost, Lilly eventually emigrated to the U.S. In 1954, a U.S. court awarded her monetary restitution from Germany.
Unbeknownst to the Cassirer family, the painting surfaced in the U.S., passing through various hands until Baron Hans Heinrich von Thyssen-Bornemisza purchased it in 1976. The baron later established the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum in Madrid, where the painting has been displayed since 1993. In 2005, Claude Cassirer, Lilly’s grandson, discovered the painting at the museum and initiated legal action to recover it. Following his death in 2010, his grandson, David Cassirer, continued the legal battle.
The museum does not contest that the painting was looted by the Nazis but maintains that Spanish law upholds its ownership. The core legal issue has centered on which jurisdiction’s laws apply to the case. In 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that California’s choice of law rules govern the restitution claim, leading to a subsequent decision by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals that applied Spanish property law. Under Spanish law, stolen property can be legally acquired under certain conditions, whereas California law does not allow stolen property to be owned by anyone other than its original rightful owner.
In response to this ruling, California enacted a new law, Assembly Bill 2867, in September 2024. The law requires courts to apply California law when residents or their families seek the recovery of stolen art from museums. The legislation was specifically aimed at cases like the Cassirer dispute, emphasizing the moral and legal obligation to return Nazi-looted property.
Following the enactment of the new law, David Cassirer appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which has now vacated the Ninth Circuit’s decision and instructed the lower court to reassess the case in light of the new California law. This decision has reinvigorated the family’s pursuit of restitution.
Cassirer’s legal team emphasized the importance of applying principles of justice and morality in this case, arguing that the painting rightfully belongs to the descendants of its original owner. They expressed hope that Spain and the museum would voluntarily return the artwork without further legal challenges.
Meanwhile, the museum’s legal representatives have stated that the dispute is not yet resolved. They argue that the Ninth Circuit must still determine the validity and impact of the new California law. Despite ongoing litigation, the museum continues to assert its ownership and intends to keep the painting on public display in Madrid.
The Supreme Court’s intervention marks a crucial moment in the decades-long battle over the painting’s rightful ownership. While the legal proceedings continue, the decision strengthens efforts to return stolen artworks to the families from whom they were taken.
