Master of the Arma Christi of San Lorenzo

Art Recovery International resolved a dispute over this Nazi-looted painting that appeared for sale in 2018 at a German auction house. The auction house claimed that they researched the painting for over a year and made numerous attempts to contact the attorney for the heirs of Jakob and Rosa Oppenheimer, the pre war owners of the Margraf Group. The painting had been offered for sale at a “Judenauktionen” and sold under duress in Dr Walther Achenbach, Berlin; auction of October 13th, 1937 (stocks of Van Diemen & Co. and Dr Otto Burchard & Co. subsidiary companies of the Margraf group).

The auction house, after failing to reach the representatives of the Oppenheimer heirs, made a questionable decision to sell the painting anyway in 2018. The unfortunate buyer, a major old master painting dealer contacted Art Recovery after discovering the claim during their research into the history of the painting. Of course, this dealer had been given a certificate of clearance to sell the painting at TEFAF by one of the fair’s alleged due diligence providers.

ARI’s Chris Marinello reached out to the Oppenheimer heirs and forged an amicable resolution between all the parties involved including the dealer and the German auction house. The confidential settlement agreement has finally cleared the 82-year-old taint on the picture and brought a just and fair solution to a complicated and painful issue.