Nazi-looted portrait returned to heirs, will be auctioned
A 16th-century painting that was looted by the Nazis and missing for nearly 80 years has been restored to its owner's heirs, and will be auctioned by Christie's next month.
The auction house says it facilitated the return of the artwork, which is a portrait by German Renaissance painter Lucas Cranach the Elder.
The painting was part of a large art collection owned by the Gutmann family in the Netherlands. The owners were killed in Nazi death camps, and the painting appeared on an inventory of works recommended for the personal use of Adolf Hitler. The trail had gone cold until late last year, when Christie's was contacted about the painting's whereabouts and arranged its return.
Simon Goodman of Los Angeles, who is the grandson of the original owner, says it was a huge and wonderful surprise to be reunited with one of his family's most prized artworks.
