Us court orders return of painting stolen by Nazi from Ukrainian museum
The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York intends to return to Ukraine the painting, which was stolen during the Second World War by the Nazis from a museum in Kyiv, reads the statement published on the court.
According to the United States authorities, based on the testament of collector Vasily Savinsky, in 1924, the canvas of the artist Pierre Louis Goudreaux, was transferred to the National Museum in Kyiv, also known as the Bogdan and Varvara Khanenko Museum of Art. The painting is known by the following names: “A Family Portrait”, “A Loving Glance” and “An Amorous Couple”. In 1943, the Nazis stole this painting from the museum.
For decades the canvas was considered lost, however, as noted by the prosecutor's office, in 2013 it was included in the list of art objects on the website of one of the auction houses in New York. According to experts, prior to this, the painting was part of a private collection, first in London and then in Massachusetts. In 1993, an art dealer bought this painting in Missouri and handed it to an auction house in New York.
According to the published statement, the prosecutor's office, and the United States FBI are seeking to confiscate the canvas and plan to return it to Ukraine.