Early Monet Stolen by Nazis Returns to Descendants After 80 Years

Monet's Early Work 'Seaside' Looted by Nazi Germany
Original Owner and Their Children Searched Until Death
Artwork Circulating at Auction Taken Over by US FBI

A rare painting by French artist Claude Monet (1840?1926), which was looted by Nazi Germany during World War II, has been returned to the descendants of the original owner after about 80 years. On the 9th (local time), the American broadcaster CNN reported, "One of the early works by the Impressionist master Monet has been returned to its original owner after a history of Nazi looting and auctions." The work, titled ‘Bord de Mer’ (Seaside), is known to be valued at $500,000 (approximately 670 million KRW).

Monet's 1865 work, The Seashore.
[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

According to CNN, the story behind this painting is tragic. In 1936, the Austrian couple Adalbert Parlaghy and Hilda Parlaghy purchased the painting. Two years later, fleeing Nazi threats, they entrusted all their belongings to a shipping company warehouse in Vienna. They intended to ship their belongings to their new settlement or retrieve them later, but in 1940, the German secret police confiscated all items in the warehouse.

The painting was subsequently sold through an auction led by an art dealer affiliated with the Nazis and disappeared for a while. It reappeared decades later in 2016 at an Impressionist exhibition held in France. ‘Bord de Mer,’ which had been sold to an antique dealer in New Orleans, USA, later came into the hands of a couple in Washington state. This couple also put the painting up for auction in Houston, Texas, but upon learning of its past ‘looted history,’ they agreed last year to hand over the painting to the FBI.

Afterward, the FBI initiated procedures to return ‘Bord de Mer’ to the granddaughters of the original owner, Parlaghy, and the return was finally made on this day. The original owner, Adalbert Parlaghy, searched for the lost painting until his death in 1981 after World War II, and his son also tried to find it until his death in 2012, but to no avail. Ann Weber, co-chair of the non-profit European Looted Art Council, stated, "This return is an act of justice" and "it evoked tremendous emotions for the family."

However, ‘Bord de Mer’ is not the only masterpiece owned by the Parlaghy family that went missing after being looted by Nazi Germany. CNN reported, "The Parlaghy family is still searching for many works, including a 1903 watercolor by French artist Paul Signac (1863?1935)."