Argentina Court Orders Return of Nazi-Looted Painting to Jewish Heir
An Argentine court has ordered the return of the painting 'Portrait of a Woman', looted by Nazis over 80 years ago from Jewish art dealer Jacques Goudstikker, after it was spotted on a real estate website.
An Argentine court has recently ruled that the painting "Portrait of a Woman", looted by the Nazis more than 80 years ago, must be returned to the heir of its rightful owner, the Jewish art dealer Jacques Goudstikker.
The late-Baroque style artwork was located last year in a house near Buenos Aires, having been missing since World War II. Marei von Saher, the heir and daughter-in-law of the original owner, plans to temporarily loan the painting to the local Holocaust Museum in Buenos Aires.
Discovery on a Real Estate Website
The painting was first identified in August 2025 by a Dutch newspaper. Journalists noticed the artwork on a real estate website showcasing a property for sale in the coastal city of Mar del Plata. The painting was hanging above a green sofa in the living room of Patricia Kadgian, daughter of Friedrich Kadgian, who served as a senior advisor to Hermann Göring.
Göring was notorious for orchestrating the plunder of thousands of artworks across Europe during the war. Friedrich Kadgian fled to Argentina after the war, taking the stolen masterpiece with him. Patricia Kadgian agreed to return the painting to the rightful heirs in exchange for immunity from prosecution for concealing stolen property.
Reclaiming the Goudstikker Legacy
"Portrait of a Woman" was part of a massive collection of more than 1,000 artworks plundered from Goudstikker following the Nazi invasion of the Netherlands in 1940.
Von Saher previously stated:
"Our family aims to recover every single piece of art stolen from Jacques' collection and restore his legacy."
The restitution of this painting marks another milestone in the family's ongoing global effort to track down and reclaim property looted during the Holocaust.
