On Sept. 16, California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) appeared at Holocaust Museum Los Angeles and signed a bill intended to help Holocaust survivors and their family members recover Nazi-looted artwork.
“It was the governor’s idea,” California Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel (D-Encino) said in a phone interview. “I think he was moved by the story and important moral [implications of it]. He’ll be signing hundreds of bills in the next couple of weeks, and for him to come and be present and lift this up, it was a meaningful and special thing.”
Newsom signed into law Assembly Bill 2867, which was introduced by Gabriel following the recent and contentious legal decision by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals that allowed a famous impressionist, Nazi-looted painting to remain in the possession of a Spanish museum. The painting was stolen from the Cassirer family — for whom California is an adopted home — during the Holocaust, and the family has been fighting for nearly two decades to recover the painting.
The painting is “Rue Saint-Honoré in the Afternoon. Effect of Rain,” a striking work by French impressionist Camille Pissarro that is estimated to be worth tens of millions of dollars. It once belonged to Lilly Cassirer, a Jewish woman living in Germany. At the outset of World War II, in 1939, she was forced to surrender the painting to the Nazis in exchange for an exit visa.
The painting is “Rue Saint-Honoré in the Afternoon. Effect of Rain,” a striking work by French impressionist Camille Pissarro that is estimated to be worth tens of millions of dollars.
In 2000, Claude Cassirer, Lily’s late grandson, learned of the painting’s existence and petitioned the museum for its return.
Ultimately, the museum was able to maintain possession of the painting because of a recent U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Ruling that applied Spanish law that says title to stolen goods may be transferred over time. AB 2867, meanwhile, mandates that California law must apply in lawsuits involving the theft of art or other personal property looted during the Holocaust or because of other acts of political persecution.
“For survivors of the Holocaust and their families, the fight to take back ownership of art and other personal items stolen by the Nazis continues to traumatize those who have already gone through the unimaginable,” Newsom said in a statement. “It is both a moral and legal imperative that these valuable and sentimental pieces be returned to their rightful owners, and I am proud to strengthen California’s laws to help secure justice for families.”
Joining Newsom at the intimate signing ceremony —held in the museum’s “World Response, Rescue and Resistance” gallery — were Gabriel and his wife, Rachel Rosner, as well as their son, Ethan; Cassirer’s great-grandson, David Cassirer; and the Cassirer family’s attorney, Sam Dubbin.
In a statement, David Cassirer expressed hope the newly signed law would eventually pave the way for the painting’s return to his family. “California has drawn a clear line under AB 2867, enabling the family to finally recover our impressionist masterpiece and protecting all stolen art victims, including other Holocaust victims and their families in the future,” he said.
Others in attendance were Holocaust Museum LA Board Chair Guy Lipa, who is the grandson of survivors; Jewish Federation Los Angeles Vice Chair Daniel Gryczman; and the museum’s chief executive officer, Beth Kean.
“It’s exciting,” Kean said, “and the governor wanting to sign it at the museum sends a strong message.”
Founded in 1961, Holocaust Museum LA is the oldest and first survivor-founded museum in the U.S. The museum’s former president, attorney Randy Schoenberg, has been actively involved in legal cases to retrieve Nazi-looted artwork, including paintings by artist Gustav Klimt — as depicted in the 2015 film, “Woman in Gold.”
The museum, located at Pan Pacific Park, is currently undergoing a significant expansion and is closed through Nov. 11.
