Argentine Court Clears Return of Nazi-Looted Portrait to Jewish Dealer's Heir

An Argentine court has approved the return of a long-lost 18th-century portrait to the heir of a prominent Jewish art dealer who was looted by the Nazis during World War II. The ruling on Friday follows an agreement in which the daughter of a fugitive Nazi official relinquished her claim to the artwork to avoid facing trial.

The painting, known as "Portrait of a Lady," will now be handed over to Marei von Saher, the sole surviving heir of Dutch-Jewish art dealer Jacques Goudstikker. Goudstikker, one of Europe's leading art dealers before the war, died in a shipwreck while fleeing Amsterdam in May 1940 as German forces invaded the Netherlands. An estimated 1,100 works from his collection were sold under duress to Hermann Göring, Hitler's second-in-command.

Patricia Kadgien, daughter of the late Friedrich Kadgien, a high-ranking Nazi financial official, and her husband, Juan Carlos Cortegoso, were charged with aggravated cover-up last year. Authorities alleged they hid the painting despite knowing it was sought by investigators. Under the deal, the couple will avoid a criminal trial but must spend two years under court supervision, make payments to a hospital in Mar del Plata, and keep authorities informed of their whereabouts.

The case began in August 2025 when Dutch reporters, investigating Friedrich Kadgien who fled to Argentina after the war and died there in 1978, spotted the portrait in an online real estate listing for his daughter's home. The listing was removed within hours, and police raids initially failed to find the painting. It was later turned over to authorities by Kadgien's lawyer.

A court-ordered examination attributed the work to Italian artist Giacomo Antonio Melchiorre Ceruti, though it had previously been identified as a piece by Giuseppe Vittore Ghislandi. Experts authenticated the painting as part of Goudstikker's collection and estimated its value at around 250,000 euros ($290,000).

Von Saher, who lives in Connecticut, has agreed to let the painting be exhibited in Argentina before its return. Authorities are still investigating other artworks seized during raids to determine if they were also looted during the war.