Pissarro Sold at Sotheby's for £1.2m Faces Nazi Loot Claim in Paris Court

A Paris court is deliberating whether to annul the June 2024 Sotheby's London sale of Camille Pissarro's Darse de pêche et bassin Duquesne (1902) for £1.2m, following a claim by seven heirs of Jewish banker Salomon Flavian that the work was looted by the Nazis in 1941. The heirs argue that a settlement agreement authorizing the sale was signed by only two relatives, Gilles and Nicolas Flavian, without their consent. Sotheby's catalogue noted the painting's presence in the 1947 Répertoire des biens spoliés and stated it was sold pursuant to a settlement between the current owner and Flavian heirs, negotiated by Mondex Corporation, a Toronto-based restitution firm. Mondex contends the work was not looted, citing research by Princeton University Art Museum provenance curator Mary Kate Cleary, who found no mention of the painting on Einsatzstab Reichsleiter Rosenberg (ERR) confiscation lists and suggested it may have been sold around 1938 to British collector Edward Le Bas. The plaintiffs' lawyer, Corinne Hershkovitch, challenged Cleary's reliance on Paul Rosenberg's archives, arguing that works were often removed from ERR lists and that Rosenberg's catalogue raisonné omitted Flavian's ownership since 1935. Sotheby's lawyer Remi Sermier disputed the court's jurisdiction over a London sale between parties with no French connection. A verdict is expected on 19 November.