The Monet painting Haystacks at Giverny was owned by French Jewish art dealer Rene Gimpel during World War II. Gimpel died in a concentration camp. The painting was sold by Gimpel under duress according to his grandson. The painting is now owned by a private Swiss art collector and will be sold at auction in May. Its estimated value is up to $18 million. Gimpel’s heirs will receive a portion of the sale per the terms of a restitution agreement.
See JTA, Jewish Heirs Get Slice of $18M From Looted Monet ‘Haystacks’, Forward, Apr. 10, 2015.
Special thanks to Brian Cohan (Attorney at Law, Law Offices of Brian J. Cohan, P.C.) for bringing this article to my attention.
