A Paris judicial court on November 5 annulled the 2024 sale of Camille Pissarro’s landscape “Fishing dock and Duquesne basin, Dieppe, sunny afternoon” by Sotheby’s. The court instructed the auction house to disclose the buyer’s identity within two months and to facilitate the painting’s return to the descendants of Salomon Flavian, the Jewish banker who owned the work before it was looted by the Nazis in 1941.
Background on the painting
Flavian purchased the 1902 work in 1935. When World War II began, he stored the painting and dozens of other pieces in crates at the Westminster Foreign Bank in Paris. Nazi forces seized those crates in 1941. After the war, Flavian recovered some of his collection, but the Pissarro remained missing.
Legal dispute
In 2024, Sotheby’s sold the painting for £1.2 million to an anonymous buyer, noting only that the sale was “pursuant to a settlement between the current owner and heirs of Salomon Flavian.” Two of Flavian’s descendants had previously reached an agreement with the seller, but other heirs filed suit, claiming they were excluded.
The French court ruled in favor of the dissenting heirs, ordering Sotheby’s to disclose the buyer’s identity and threatening a €1,000 daily penalty for non‑compliance. The court also ordered the Toronto‑based Mondex Corporation, which had assisted the earlier settlement, to pay the heirs €10,000, finding Mondex had acted without proper authority.
Responses
Representatives for the Flavian heirs welcomed the decision, saying it restores the memory and honor of their father and grandfather. Sotheby’s issued a statement expressing respect for the judgment but disappointment with the restitution component, noting the complex provenance and its commitment to handling the matter responsibly.
Legal experts cited the French Ordinance of 21 April 1945 and the 1998 Washington Principles on Nazi‑Confiscated Art as the legal basis for the ruling, emphasizing the ongoing international effort to address art looted during the Nazi era.
Original reporting: KRDO (Colorado Springs metro) — read the source article.
