The decision puts an end to a three-year dispute between the heirs of Bauer and collectors, who bought this work at auction in 1995

This big story began in the spring of 2017, when the heirs of French art collector of Jewish descent Simon Bauer saw the work of "picking peas" in retrospect, Camille Pissarro in the musée Marmottan-Моне in Paris and recognized her picture from the collection of their ancestor, looted by the Nazis in 1943. Then attempt to return the figure was met with resistance by its owners — American couple of collectors Bruce and Robbie toll, who bought the picture in 1995 at auction auction house Christie's for $800 thousand.

the Couple claimed that they are bona fide purchasers of the work, according to the law issued a right of possession to her and the exhibition in France the painting got passed all formal inspections. However, over the past three years, courts of various instances repeatedly come to the decision that work should be returned to the heirs of the original owner. But each such solution should have the appeal. And here of July 1, 2020 in this case the point was put.

the Supreme court's Decision is considered final and not subject to appeal, but lawyers for the family of toll plan to appeal this verdict in the European court of human rights. According to the lawyer of American collectors Ron Soffer, his customers "are unhappy because ultimately it is they who must pay for the crime committed by the Vichy regime". In addition, he noted that such judicial precedent "opens a real Pandora's box" and could serve as a pretext for a revision of many art transactions committed in the postwar period.

In turn, the representative of the family Bauer said that the court's decision "gives undeniable legal basis all the ongoing actions aimed at the return of the rightful owners of artworks looted and illegally held by collectors who are trying to appeal to their integrity acquisition".

And while the appeal to the ECHR is still prepared, the heirs of Simon Bauer (at the moment there are about 20 people) preparing for the meeting with Pissarro, the last three years were in storage at the Musee d'orsay.

the Material was prepared by Maria Kuznetsova, AI

Source: artdaily.com