Christie's Cézanne auction faces Nazi-era provenance questions

Christie's is facing renewed scrutiny over the provenance of three Paul Cézanne masterpieces consigned by the Langmatt Museum in Baden, Switzerland, for its 20th Century Evening Sale on November 9 in New York. The works come from the collection of Sidney and Jenny Brown, whose fortune was built on Brown, Boveri & Cie., an electrical engineering company founded in 1891 that later became ABB. According to Artnet, Christie's omitted information about the company's alleged collaboration with the Nazi regime, including the use of forced labor during World War II. The sale aims to raise funds to save the Langmatt Museum, but the partial transparency has sparked controversy, especially after Christie's canceled a second sale of the Horten jewelry collection due to similar Nazi-era ties. The auction house has a dedicated restitution department but did not disclose these connections in the catalog.