" A German casino will return this Tuesday (10/25/2011) a 300-year-old painting seized from a Jewish art dealer by the Nazis, his heirs reported.
The work, The Masters of the Amsterdam Goldsmiths' Guild in 1701, is a large-scale painting by Juriaen Pool II and constitutes the ninth painting by Jewish art dealer Max Stern recovered by his heirs.
Since 2002, Concordia University has been trying to recover more than 400 paintings that Stern lost to the Nazis, who carried out a forced sale in 1937.
In December of the same year, Stern closed his art gallery, located in the German city of Dusseldorf, and fled to London before settling in Canada.
"It is the first time that a German organization has returned a painting to us," highlighted Clarence Epstein, director of special projects at Concordia University in Montreal.
Most of the assets of Stern, who died in 1987, were donated to Concordia University, McGill University in Montreal, and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Epstein did not identify the casino that returned the painting, at the institution's own request. [ Source: AFP - All rights of reproduction and representation reserved. Click here for limitations and restrictions on use. ]
We shall see what the future holds for us. There are still many i's left to be dotted, (Sílvio)
