German auction house pulls painting disputed in Nazi-era restitution claim

German auction house pulls disputed painting

BERLIN — A German auction house says it has withdrawn from sale a painting that the Max Stern estate claims was one of hundreds the Jewish art dealer was forced to sell off by the Nazis.

Karl-Sax Feddersen, responsible for legal affairs at the Duesseldorf-based Lempertz auction house, said the picture by Alexander Adriaenssen had been pulled from Saturday’s sale and its owner notified.

He said the painting is valued at euro4,000 to euro5,000.

Feddersen said the painting’s owner must decide how to go forward with restitution talks, but the auction house is “ready to facilitate negotiations.”

The estate claims it is one of some 400 works from Stern’s collection sold under duress between 1935 and 1937. It is working to recover all of them.