Argentine court clears return of Nazi-looted portrait to Jewish dealer’s heir

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — An Argentine court approved a deal on Friday that will allow a long-lost Italian portrait, looted from a prominent Jewish art dealer during World War II, to be returned to his heir. The daughter of a fugitive Nazi official, Patricia Kadgien, agreed to give up her claim to the painting rather than face trial.

This marks the end of a decades-long search for the missing portrait, known as "Portrait of a Lady," which belonged to Dutch-Jewish art dealer Jacques Goudstikker. The Nazi invasion of the Netherlands in 1940 led to the sale of Goudstikker's celebrated collection under duress to Nazi officials. Argentine and international investigators were seeking the return of the painting, which was recently identified as a work by Italian artist Giacomo Antonio Melchiorre Ceruti.

The couple, Patricia Kadgien and Juan Carlos Cortegoso, were charged with aggravated cover-up after authorities discovered they had hidden the 18th-century painting despite knowing it was sought by investigators. They agreed to avoid a criminal trial and spend two years under court supervision in exchange for the painting's return to von Saher.