California: 2024 Lawsuit Revives Nazi Art Claims Against Norton Simon

• A new lawsuit has been filed against the Norton Simon Museum in California, seeking the return of Lucas Cranach's "Adam and Eve" diptych, which was looted by Nazis in 1940.
• The lawsuit is brought by the Jewish Federation-Council of Greater Los Angeles on behalf of the heir of Jacques Goudstikker, whose previous federal claim was unsuccessful.
• This new legal action is enabled by a 2024 California law that provides a two-year window for state residents to sue for art lost to political persecution, even if federal cases failed.
• California law, unlike some foreign statutes, does not recognize legal title transfer by art thieves, which is central to the new legal strategy.
• Another concurrent lawsuit, also prompted by the new California law, seeks the return of watercolors created by a Jewish woman under Nazi coercion at Auschwitz.

California law, unlike some foreign statutes, does not recognize legal title transfer by art thieves, which is central to the new legal strategy.

The Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena, California, is once again facing a legal challenge over a pair of Renaissance paintings, the diptych "Adam and Eve" by Lucas Cranach the Elder, dating to around 1530. A recent lawsuit, filed in LA County Superior Court by the Jewish Federation-Council of Greater Los Angeles, seeks the restitution of these life-size artworks, which were confiscated by Nazi forces in 1940 from their Jewish owners.

This legal action represents a renewed effort to recover the paintings on behalf of Marei von Saher, the sole surviving heir of prominent Dutch Old Masters art dealer Jacques Goudstikker. The Federation-Council, acting as assignees, stated that the pursuit of the Cranachs aims to rectify a significant historical injustice and secure resources to support thousands of impoverished Holocaust survivors in the greater Los Angeles area. This new lawsuit follows a previous, unsuccessful federal court battle initiated by von Saher against the Norton Simon Museum in 2007, which concluded with the Ninth Circuit siding with the museum after a decade of litigation.

The history of the Cranach diptych is deeply intertwined with the tumultuous events of World War II. Jacques Goudstikker, a leading art dealer in the Netherlands, was forced to flee the country by boat in May 1940 with his wife and infant son following the German invasion. A substantial portion of his art collection, including the "Adam and Eve" diptych, was subsequently seized by Hermann Göring, a high-ranking Nazi official.

While Goudstikker's widow managed to reclaim some of the collection after the war, a 1952 settlement with the Dutch government did not include the works appropriated by Göring, which remained in the Netherlands. The Dutch government later sold the Cranach paintings to George Stroganoff-Scherbatoff, who falsely asserted family ownership. Although von Saher successfully recovered an additional 200 artworks from her father-in-law's collection in subsequent proceedings with the Dutch government, the Cranach diptych remained out of reach until the Norton Simon Museum acquired it from Stroganoff in 1971 for $800,000. The museum has consistently maintained that its title to the artworks is legitimate, citing previous court rulings, including the U.S. Supreme Court's refusal to hear the case, and has pledged to keep them accessible to the public.

The current lawsuit against the Norton Simon Museum is made possible by a significant 2024 California law concerning Nazi art claims. This statute creates a two-year window for state residents to file lawsuits for the return of artworks lost due to political persecution, specifically applying to cases that were previously unsuccessful in federal courts. A key provision of this 2024 California law is its requirement for state law to govern ownership claims, which notably differs from some foreign legal systems by refusing to recognize the legal transfer of title by art thieves.

This legislative development, often referred to in the context of California Section 338.2 art recovery, offers a new avenue for claimants. Lawyers representing clients with Nazi-looted art claims, especially those previously dismissed in federal court, must be aware of this new statute. It potentially allows for successful recovery under California's specific legal framework regarding stolen property, which does not recognize legal transfer of title by art thieves, thereby reopening cases that federal courts had previously closed, such as the Goudstikker family art claims.

The implications of the 2024 California law extend beyond the Norton Simon Museum Cranach lawsuit. Concurrently, another lawsuit was filed in federal court in Los Angeles, also leveraging the new two-year window provided by California law. This separate action involves the daughters of a Jewish woman who, while imprisoned at Auschwitz, was compelled to paint watercolors of Roma prisoners for Josef Mengele, infamously known as the "Angel of Death." The plaintiffs are suing the museum of the former extermination camp for the return of their mother's artwork.

This second case is highlighted as a prime example of the type of claim the new California statute, Section 338.2, was designed to permit: a California family seeking the return of artworks created under Nazi coercion and subsequently withheld by a Polish state museum for decades. These concurrent lawsuits underscore the potential for the 2024 California law to significantly impact ongoing efforts for Lucas Cranach Adam and Eve restitution and other Nazi-looted art claims, offering new hope for families seeking justice and the return of their heritage.

Lawyers representing clients with Nazi-looted art claims, especially those previously dismissed in federal court, must be aware of the new 2024 California law. This statute reopens a two-year window for state-level lawsuits, potentially allowing for successful recovery under California's specific legal framework regarding stolen property, which does not recognize legal transfer of title by art thieves.

Source: Original reporting via Courthouse News Service