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The question of art stolen from World War 2 has plagued the art world for several decades. Accordingly, a recent court decision provides a possible landmark turning point. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that heirs to a German Jewish art dealer could use the U.S. court system to reclaim a valuable painting their family had used as a bargaining chip with the Nazis, even though the painting is currently owned by Spain.
The Cassirer family, heirs of the painting, discovered it listed in a catalog for a Madrid museum and sued to reclaim it, which led the Spanish foundation to argue that the matter should be decided in Spanish courts, not California courts.
