Holocaust survivor sues Spain to get painting back
Posted: 08/12/2010
http://www.dailybreeze.com/latestnews/ci_15759339
A Holocaust survivor living in San Diego can continue his legal battle against the Spanish government to reclaim a valuable painting he contends his grandmother was forced to sell for about $360 to escape the Nazis, a federal appeals court ruled today.
Claude Cassirer, 89, sued Spain's government in 2005, along with the foundation that runs the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum in Madrid, where the painting by Camille Pissarro is on display.
The foundation and Spanish government moved to have the case dismissed by a lower court judge in Los Angeles, who rejected their arguments.
Both entities appealed to the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, which ruled the case could go forward against them.
According to Cassirer's court papers, his grandmother was forced to sell the oil painting for a "pittance" --about $360 -- to escape from Nazi Germany in 1939.
The painting,"Rue Saint-Honore: Afternoon, Rain Effect," depicts a 19th century Paris street scene and is worth $20 million, according to Cassirer's court papers.
Swiss industrialist Baron Hans Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemiszain acquired the painting in 1976, and in 1993, the Spanish government bought his collection, including the painting, for $327 million, and placed it on display in the Madrid museum named for the art collector, according to the lawsuit. Cassirer filed the suit in U.S. District Court following a Supreme Court decision allowing U.S. citizens to sue foreign
governments in federal court over art plundered during the Nazi regime.
The case will now return to U.S. District Judge Gary A. Feess in Los Angeles for further rulings.
"We're gratified with today's decision," said Stuart Dunwoody, Cassirer's attorney. "It's just shocking that Spain, having agreed to a number of international principals regarding the return of stolen art, hasn't done the right thing and return the painting." Cassirer is "looking forward to seeing justice in his lifetime," the lawyer added.