Erven wants to cancel the Kandinsky council of Stedelijk

The US and Dutch heirs of Hedwig Lewenstein-Weijermann are trying to overturn a binding opinion of the Restitution Committee in the administrative court. The lawyer for the three plaintiffs, Gert-Jan van den Bergh, announced it Wednesday

. This is the opinion of making a painting by Wassily Kandinsky, Bild mit Häusern . This masterpiece from 1909 is part of the permanent presentation of the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam. The municipality of Amsterdam bought the painting in 1940 at an auction, for the modest sum of 176 florins. The table is now probably worth tens of millions.

"Involuntary Loss"

The three plaintiffs sought restitution because, in their opinion, the auction of the painting was directly related to the Nazi regime. The two children of Hedwig Lewenstein, widow of a Jewish sewing machine dealer in Amsterdam, who died in 1937, lost their jobs so unintentionally.

The Restitution Committee rejected the request for restitution on October 22 in a recommendation to the Minister of Education, Culture and Science. Although the auction of the painting can not be separated from the Nazi regime, this is stated in the advisory report. But at the same time, says the committee, the owners of the time decided to sell because of the deterioration of their financial situation, even before the German invasion. The importance of painting for the Stedelijk collection also helped determine the opinion.

According to the lawyer Van den Bergh, the opinion of the assumptions is related: "And they all fall to the detriment of plaintiffs." [19659002] It also disturbs him that the great importance of painting for the Stedelijk collection plays such an important role in rendering advice. Van den Bergh: "The limitation argument is therefore reintroduced by the back door.In accordance with Washington principles, restitution claims must be fair and equitable.This advice is neither fair nor just." [19659002] The three plaintiffs, two Americans and one Dutchman, are assisted by James Palmer, an American bounty hunter specializing in claims. Palmer asked American mathematics professor Norman Fenton how correct the five hypotheses of the Kandinsky council were. "Fenton has estimated this probability to less than 3% and all these assumptions must be correct for the opinion to remain valid."

If the administrative court quashes the opinion, the plaintiffs can again resort to the Restitution Committee