A Claude Monet painting stolen from a Jewish couple by the Nazis in World War II has been returned to descendants of the Bachel family, officials said Wednesday.
Adalbert “Bella” and Hilda Burlagi purchased the artwork at an Austrian art auction in 1936 titled Bord de Mer. After Nazi Germany annexed Austria in 1938, the Burlakis had to flee, and they stored their possessions.
In 1940 the Nazis seized their possessions, which included seven works of art, and a Nazi art dealer bought the pastel. An 1865 Monet, later “disappeared” in 1941, the F.B.I. said in a press release.
Béla Parlaghi searched for his stolen art after World War II until his death in 1981. His son also tried to trace the family's art, but to no avail until his death in 2012.
Agents began investigating the stolen pastel in 2021 after the FBI contacted authorities in Europe about the stolen art commission pastel. The commission learned that a New Orleans art dealer acquired the pastel in 2017 and sold it to private collectors two years later.
2023 Pastel listed for sale at a Houston, Texas art gallery. FBI agents and New York City police detectives contacted the owners of the pastel – who did not know its provenance – and explained that it had been stolen.
The owners voluntarily surrendered their ownership to the authorities. The work was returned to Burlagis' granddaughters, Helen Lowe and Françoise Burlagis.
“Getting it back is an act of justice,” said Anne Webber, co-chair of the European Commission on Looted Art. He said. “It has a huge emotional impact on the family.”
James Denny, the FBI's assistant director in charge in New York City, said his agents were “honored” to help return the art.
“While this Monet is undoubtedly valuable, its true value lies in its representation of the Burlagi family,” Denny said in a press release. “It's a connection to their history, their loved ones and a legacy that was almost destroyed. The emotions tied up in recovering something so cruelly taken cannot be measured in dollars – it is priceless.
Federal authorities continue to investigate art stolen from Barlagis, including a 1903 Paul Signac watercolor Seine (Pont de Grenelle) in Paris. The same Nazi art dealer who kidnapped their Monet bought this Signac.
Because of the history of the Signac watercolor, the FBI said it was “highly probable” that the work is now known by a different name. Signac has been placed on the FBI's National Stolen Art File (NSAF) list and officials are urging anyone with information to come forward.
20% of art in Europe was looted by the Nazis. According to the National Archives. The World Organization for Jewish Restoration and the Conference on Jewish Property Claims against Germany released a report in March indicating that 24 countries had made “little or no progress” in returning art stolen during the Holocaust.
The report estimated that 600,000 “include more than 100,000 paintings and several million books, manuscripts, ritual and other cultural items”. What was stolen during the Holocaust was never returned.
Two dozen countries behind Nazi art recovery efforts, including Russia and Turkey, were among more than 40 countries that supported the Washington Convention principles on Nazi-confiscation in 1998. Art. The policies were aimed at reviving looted works of art and culture.
Contributed by Reuters Reporting
