Greenwich woman gains support in Nazi art case
A Greenwich woman continuing to fight for the return of two 500-year-old paintings seized by Nazis during World War II, currently on display at a California museum, has received the support of that state's attorney general in an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
California Attorney General Jerry Brown filed a friend-of-the-court brief last week asking the court to consider an appeal by Marei von Saher, who unsuccessfully sued the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena for the paintings in 2007.
The pair of 16th-century wood panels were painted by German artist Lucas Cranach the Elder and depict Adam and Eve. They were seized, along with other paintings, by the Nazis after von Saher's father-in-law, art dealer Jacques Goudstikker, fled the Netherlands in advance of the Nazi invasion. The museum purchased the paintings close to 40 years ago. They were recently appraised at $24 million.
Von Saher said that she had been instructed by her attorneys not to comment on the case until it is resolved.
Brown's brief argued that California law extended the statute of limitations for heirs of Holocaust victims beyond the usual three-year limit that would apply to von Saher.
A trial court in Los Angeles tossed out the case, ruling that the law was unconstitutional because it interferes with the federal government's authority over foreign policy....
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California Attorney General Jerry Brown filed a friend-of-the-court brief last week asking the court to consider an appeal by Marei von Saher, who unsuccessfully sued the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena for the paintings in 2007.
The pair of 16th-century wood panels were painted by German artist Lucas Cranach the Elder and depict Adam and Eve. They were seized, along with other paintings, by the Nazis after von Saher's father-in-law, art dealer Jacques Goudstikker, fled the Netherlands in advance of the Nazi invasion. The museum purchased the paintings close to 40 years ago. They were recently appraised at $24 million.
Von Saher said that she had been instructed by her attorneys not to comment on the case until it is resolved.
Brown's brief argued that California law extended the statute of limitations for heirs of Holocaust victims beyond the usual three-year limit that would apply to von Saher.
A trial court in Los Angeles tossed out the case, ruling that the law was unconstitutional because it interferes with the federal government's authority over foreign policy....