Brilliant return: National Gallery returns Nazi-looted art to family

Brilliant return: National Gallery returns Nazi-looted art to family

The return of a valuable painting from the Nazi era has caused a stir, and not without reason. The National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) has returned the 17th century painting “Lady with a Fan” by Gerard ter Borch to the descendants of the Bromberg family, whose ancestors lost the artwork during the Nazi era. This happened on October 17, 2025, without the NGV making a public announcement or answering questions about the decision. A single mention of the return occurred weeks later in an update to the Lost Art Database in Germany, raising questions about transparency. As The Guardian reports, New York researcher Jason Schulman questioned the NGV's handling of the case.

The painting has been part of the NGV collection since it was acquired in 1945 for £4,000. The Emden family, which had laid claim to the work since the early 2000s, believed it once belonged to their grandfather, Max Emden. The NGV rejected this claim in 2006 due to a lack of evidence. But in 2022, Emden's legal representation got involved after the Bromberg family, who are also relatives of Emden, asserted their own claim. It was a complex web of claims and family connections that further complicated the return process. By early 2025, the Emdens and their lawyer withdrew their claim when they had to accept that the painting was actually owned by Dr. Henry and Hertha Bromberg and disappeared during the forced sale in the late 1930s.

Background to looted art

The return of the painting is not an isolated case, but part of an extensive history of stolen art and its repatriation, which extends to the Third Reich and far beyond. Between 1933 and the end of World War II, the Nazis looted hundreds of thousands of cultural objects, many of which are still considered lost or have not been returned. Experts estimate that around 600,000 works of art were confiscated, many of them from Jewish owners, illustrating the emotional and legal conflicts that have spanned generations.

However, the return of works of art remains a complex issue. Critics point out that many governments, including France, are not taking sufficiently proactive measures to repatriate looted art. The situation is similar in Austria, which has taken steps but often seems to have made no progress. Since the 1998 Washington Declaration, in which 44 states committed to restitution, only a handful of objects have been successfully restituted.

The role of provenance research

A central concern in the debate about looted art is provenance research, which aims to fully clarify the origin of works of art. The establishment of the coordination office for the loss of cultural property in Magdeburg and the creation of an arbitration tribunal to decide on returns are steps in the right direction. However, the challenge remains to overcome entrenched structures and legal hurdles.

What the future holds remains to be seen. The case of the painting “Lady with a Fan” is another chapter in the painful history of stolen art and at the same time opens up the discussion about new approaches to restitution. The NGV has not yet disclosed whether it is also focusing on other works with problematic provenance.