Court rules in favor of MFA Houston keeping Bernardo Bellotto painting sold to the Nazis
A panel of judges from the US Fifth Circuit court of appeals upheld a lower court’s decision to dismiss a claim by heirs of Max J. Emden for the return of Bernardo Bellotto’s painting, “The Marketplace at Pirna”, currently in the Museum of Fine Arts (MFA) Houston’s collection. The lawsuit revolves around a mistaken restitution of the painting to a Nazi loot claimant after World War II, with the court citing the “act of state doctrine” as the reason for not prosecuting the restitution mistake. The court rulings in favor of the MFA Houston held that the actions of the Dutch Art Property Foundation were considered acts of the Dutch government and therefore beyond the jurisdiction of US courts. Despite some finding the outcome unfair, the judges stated that it was not their role to question the decisions of foreign nations. The dispute over the painting has been declared definitively resolved in the museum’s favor.
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Elara Voss, graduated from the Royal College of Art in London with a Master’s in Fine Art. She specializes in contemporary sculpture and installation art, exploring themes of nature and human interaction. Elara’s works have been featured in several group exhibitions across Europe, and she is currently working on her first solo show.