Argentina Court Orders Return of Nazi-Looted Painting to Heir
An Argentine court approved the restitution of the painting 'Portrait of a Lady' to Marei von Saher, the sole heir of Jewish art dealer Jacques Goudstikker, ending an 80-year-old mystery.
An Argentine court has approved the return of the painting "Portrait of a Lady", looted during the Holocaust from the prominent Jewish-Dutch art dealer Jacques Goudstikker, to his sole heir, Marei von Saher, more than 80 years after it vanished.
Settlement with Nazi Official's Daughter
The decision was reached as part of an agreement with Patricia Kadgain, the daughter of fugitive Nazi official Friedrich Kadgain, and her husband, Juan Carlos Cortegoso. Last year, the couple was charged with aggravated concealment after authorities alleged they hid the painting despite knowing that investigators in Argentina and abroad were searching for it.
Under the court-approved settlement, the couple will relinquish all claims to the artwork and agree to its transfer to Von Saher. In exchange, they will not face criminal trial but will remain under court supervision for two years. They must keep authorities updated on their whereabouts and make payments to a children's hospital in Mar del Plata, where they reside.
Each spouse has committed to paying 2.4 million Argentine pesos (approximately $1,600 USD) to the hospital.
Discovered in a Real Estate Listing
The case came to light almost by accident in August 2025. Journalists from the Dutch newspaper Algemeen Dagblad, researching the elder Kadgain's past, noticed the painting hanging above a green velvet sofa in photos attached to a real estate listing for his daughter's home in the Parque Luro neighborhood of the resort city of Mar del Plata.
Hours after the investigation was published, the listing was removed from the internet. Police raided the home multiple times, but the painting had been removed. It was only a week later that Kadgain's attorney handed the artwork over to the authorities.
Friedrich Kadgain served as a financial advisor to Hermann Göring, managing foreign currency, precious metals, and the sale of confiscated property for the Nazi regime. Following Germany's defeat, he fled to Switzerland and later to Argentina, where he died in 1978 without ever being arrested or prosecuted for war crimes.
The Goudstikker Collection
The painting was part of the renowned collection of Jacques Goudstikker, one of Europe's leading art dealers before World War II. Following the German invasion of the Netherlands in May 1940, Goudstikker fled with his family but died in an accident aboard the escape ship. Approximately 1,100 artworks from his collection were forced into illegal sales to high-ranking Nazi officials, largely to Göring.
For decades, "Portrait of a Lady" was attributed to the Italian Baroque painter Giuseppe Vittore Ghislandi. However, a court-ordered analysis conducted by Argentina's National Academy of Fine Arts determined that the painting was actually created by the Italian artist Giacomo Antonio Melchiorre Ceruti. Experts verified its origin from the Goudstikker collection and valued it at approximately €250,000 (about $290,000 USD).
Von Saher, who lives in Connecticut and has spent decades working to recover her family's looted art, agreed to let the painting be temporarily exhibited in Argentina before it is delivered to her.
Her legal representatives stated:
"The goal is to contribute to the dissemination and increased awareness of the looting of cultural property during the Nazi regime."
Meanwhile, investigations continue into two other 19th-century artworks, as well as engravings and prints seized from the Kadgain family homes, to determine if they were also looted during the Holocaust.
