Jan 12, 2004 -

CJC commends National Gallery for efforts to return looted painting. Nazis stole French painting from Jewish art dealer

OTTAWA — Canadian Jewish Congress commends the National Gallery of Canada for uncovering the origin of one of its works and for initiating its eventual return to the heirs of the owner from whom it was plundered. Le Salon de Madame Aron by Edouard Vuillard, purchased by the National Gallery in 1956, has been confirmed to have been stolen from French Jewish art dealer Alfred Lindon.

“The gallery has acted in an exemplary fashion on this matter,” comments Keith Landy, CJC national president. “Its persistence is particularly commendable considering that initially they were told by a family member that the work had not been stolen.”

The gallery had contacted the Lindon family in 2000 because the painting appeared in a catalogue compiled by the French government titled the List of Property Removed from France During the War 1939-45. Mr. Lindon’s son Jacques had told the gallery that — according to his recollection — the painting was sold. However, German wartime documents found by French archivists confirm that the Vuillard had in fact been stolen from the bank vault where the Lindons stashed their art collection during the German occupation.

Canadian Jewish Congress has been working cooperatively with the gallery and the Canadian Museums Association (CMA) on the issue of identification and restitution of cultural property stolen by the Nazi regime between 1933 and 1945. CJC and the CMA held a special Symposium on Holocaust-era cultural property in Ottawa in November 2001. The landmark event was hosted by the National Gallery.

“CJC applauds the efforts of National Gallery director, Pierre Theberge on this case and for the overall commitment he has shown to return stolen works to their rightful owners or heirs,” says Mr. Landy. The gallery was the first institution in Canada to post works with dubious provenance (gaps in their ownership records) on its website. “We urge all museums in Canada to continue researching their collections and publicizing information on any suspect works. See CMA and CJC report