Jewish Heirs Get Slice of $18M From Looted Monet ‘Haystacks’
The heirs of a French Jewish art dealer killed in a Nazi concentration camp will get a piece of the upcoming sale at Christie’s of a Monet painting looted by the Nazis and acquired after the war by a Swiss collector.
The painting, “Haystacks at Giverny,” was painted by Claude Monet in 1885 and is estimated to be worth $12 million to $18 million.
“Haystacks,” one of several similar paintings of a pasture near the artist’s French home, was acquired by Rene Gimpel, a French art dealer associated with the intellectual elite of his time and a frequent visitor to Monet’s home, according to The New York Times.
After the outbreak of World War II, Gimpel was detained by the Nazi-allied Vichy government in France and shipped off to the Neuengamme concentration camp, where he died. Gimpel’s grandson, who also is named René Gimpel and is an art dealer, believes his grandfather was forced to sell the Monet under duress, according to the Times. The artwork surfaced in Geneva during the war and eventually ended up in the hands of a private Swiss collector.
Under the terms of a restitution agreement, the elder Gimpel’s heirs will receive an undisclosed amount from the auction house sale, which is to take place in May.
Gimpel told the Times that his family has reached restitution agreements on two other artworks that had belonged to his grandfather.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and the protests on college campuses.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
