picture of the interesting and fascinating history can be purchased at Christie's auction on 23 June. Cloth Camille Pissarro (Camille Pissarro) 1903 «Naberezhnaya Malakeh. Spring », stolen gestapovtsami in 1938, nearly 70 years, returned to its lawful owner Gisela Berman-Fischer (Gisela Bermann-Fischer). To get this work, it had to be a long battle with advocates of art dealer Bruno vine (Bruno Lohse), which during the Second World War on behalf of Hermann Goring (Hermann Goering) involved the confiscation of works of art in occupied France.

In a telephone interview with 80-year-old Gisela Berman-Fischer explained that the return of the painting cost her at least half a million Swiss francs (466 thousand dollars). Basically, the money went to attorneys' fees. However, it never could be sure that the process was successfully completed in its favor. «Cloth was owned by my family in 1907 and returned to me a hundred years later. But over the last 13 years I have invested in him so much energy and resources that would be too lightly just to keep him », - both argue their decision to sell Ms Berman-Fischer. The work offered for trading Impressionist and Modern works of Christie's in estimeytom from 900 thousand to 1.5 million pounds (1,48-2,46 million dollars).

Santa Gisela Berman-Fisher, Samuel Fisher (Samuel Fischer), was the founder and owner of publishing house S. Fischer Verlag, published such famous authors as Thomas Mann (Thomas Mann) and Hermann Hesse (Hermann Hesse) . Part of the proceeds of the enterprise he spent on collecting, and in March 1907 on the advice of art dealer Paul ëÁÓÓÉÒÅÒÁ (Paul Cassirer) bought a few canvases the Impressionists, including Pissarro was painting «Naberezhnaya Malakeh. Spring ».

In 1932, leadership passed into the hands of publisher Samuel Fischer's son-in-law, Berman-Fischer, Gottfried (Gottfried Bermann-Fischer). However, it soon came to the family business difficult and dangerous times: after coming to power of Hitler in 1933, many authors, printed in S. Fischer Verlag, were forced to emigrate because their works were banned and burned books ruthlessly Nazis. In 1935, Berman-Fischer family crossed from Berlin to Vienna in 1938, running through Switzerland to Sweden, then moved to the United States.

«While the return of paintings, I have a lot to learn about the fate of his family, which is due to the harassment had to flee and lose all», - told Gisela Berman-Fischer. She was only 9 years old when her family fled from Vienna on the night prior to the entrance of Hitler's troops in Austria. All their belongings, including paintings and a library of his father, he had to leave. Cloth Corinto Lovis (Lovis Corinth), El Greco (El Greco), Paul Gauguin (Paul Gauguin) and Pissarro won Gestapo agents.

«I was born in the family is at the center of cultural and literary life in Berlin - has continued her story Gisela Berman-Fischer. - But when I grew up, I myself felt that if we pulled out the roots, We have become strangers. We will not abandon a sense of loss, a sense that we are not a part of society, in which live. My parents at any time were ready to gather all belongings and flee. Therefore, to return the stolen picture of the family for me is to return all to their seats. After all, nothing is impossible to correct ».

paintings, confiscated from Fischer, the Nazis in 1940, was sold at auction Dorotheun in Vienna. Father Gisela began their quest in 1947, he placed ads in magazines, the authorities appealed to the United States, Germany, France and Austria. Many paintings managed to return through the United States the restitution process.

But on Pissarro long time nothing was heard. After her father's death in 1995, began the search for Gisela. The only evidence that «Naberezhnaya Malakeh» than were destroyed during the war, appeared in 1984. Painting a short time exhibited at the exhibition in the Hermitage Museum Foundation (Foundation de l'Hermitage) in Lausanne. In the catalog, it appeared as received from a private collection in Switzerland. But unfortunately, the facts of Fisher was able to find only a few years after the exhibition.

«I do not think we will ever be able to find out where and where the picture carried all these years. It seems that it is indeed hidden. I would suggest that the exhibition in Lausanne in 1984, was a kind of test. Someone wanted to know whether the search for a picture of these owners or their heirs, and whether they will demand it back », - explained Gisela Berman-Fischer.

At the time the work was owned by Pissarro Bruno vine. During the Second World War he was part of the operational headquarters «Reyhslyayter Rosenberg» (Einsatzstab Reichsleiter Rosenberg), seized almost 22 thousand works in occupied France. After the war he was arrested for war crimes and was imprisoned until 1949. Once at liberty, he again engaged in trafficking in works of art. Vine died on 19 March 2007 at the age of 95 years.

In the two months before his death to Gisela asked two associates vine - art dealer and art historian. They said that they know the whereabouts of paintings by Pissarro and ready to help return it for a certain compensation. Ms Berman-Fischer filed their lawsuit in the Munich court, and now both are under investigation on suspicion of extortion, money laundering and breach of trust.

«Naberezhnaya Malakeh» kept in a safe Zurich bank Zuercher Kantonalbank, registered in Liechtenstein Foundation Schoenart Anstalt. With regard to the activities of the fund, which was under the control of the vine, while under investigation. After the death of the vine in 2007, the court decided to return the picture Liechtenstein Gisela Berman-Fischer. She believes that the canvas Pissarro stored in a bank vault in the 1970's.

A similar fate is likely to suffer many other works of art. It is estimated that the Conference of the material claims of Jews to Germany, the Nazis had stolen around 650 thousand pieces of art. The lists of Art Loss Register, which stores information on stolen or missing artifacts is the 70 thousand of which were lost during the Second World War and still had not returned to their owners. «Perhaps, in the vaults are still thousands of pictures stored awaiting the death of potential vzyskateley», - explained Gisela Berman-Fischer. Only a few of the heirs, like she had enough perseverance to defend its right and maintain a multi-year struggle against the former Nazi art dealers and two-faced lawyers.

«Naberezhnaya Malakeh. Spring »- one of the most recent works Pissarro. The head of Christie's offices in Zurich Dirk Bol (Dirk Bohl) called estimeyt this product 0,9-1,5 million pounds at the current situation in the market rather «moderate». He also said: «This is not just a beautiful canvas. His provenans reveals to us the history of XX century. And now they appear to peace for the first time in 100 years ».

Material prepared Onuchin Catherine, AI

Source: bloomberg.com , artinvestment.ru

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