Daughter of Nazi Who Seized Painting Looted From Jewish Art Dealer Put Under House Arrest in Argentina

The daughter of a high-ranking Nazi official, who took a painting stolen from a Jewish art dealer during World War II, has been put under house arrest by Argentina’s federal court as officials continue to search for the missing artwork.

Friedrich Kadgien was an SS officer and senior financial aide to Nazi leader Hermann Goering. Kadgien fled to Switzerland after World War II and then moved to Argentina, where he died in 1979.

In late August, the 17th century painting “Portrait of a Lady” by Italian painter Giuseppe Ghislandi was spotted in photos that were part of a real estate listing of a home owned by Kadgien’s daughter, Patricia Kadgien, in the coastal city of Mar del Plata, near Buenos Aires. Pictures of her home were posted on the website of the real estate agency Robles Casas & Campos, and the painting was seen hanging on a wall behind a couch, according to an investigation conducted by the Dutch newspaper Algemeen Dagblad (AD).

The artwork, which is a portrait of Contessa Colleoni, is on the international list of lost art and the official Dutch list of artworks looted by the Nazis during World War II, AD reported. It was part of an art collection owned by Dutch Jewish art dealer Jacques Goudstikker, who died in 1940 at the age of 42 during an attempt to flee the Nazis for England. Before his death, Goudstikker helped fellow Jews leave Nazi-occupied Europe. The Nazis reportedly stole or bought under duress more than 1,000 pieces owned by Goudstikker, including “Portrait of a Lady.”

After the artwork was seen in the real estate listing, police in Argentina raided Kadgien’s home, but when authorities arrived, the painting was missing and had been replaced with a tapestry that featured horses. Kadgien and her husband have now been put under house arrest for 72 hours and accused of covering up a crime of theft due to their possession and concealment of “Portrait of a Lady,” according to the local news outlet La Nacion. Police also conducted three raids on other properties owned by the family by Monday night.

Kadgien and her husband submitted a claim to a court arguing that they own the painting. They reportedly claimed that due to the amount of time that has passed since the work was taken, Argentina’s statute of limitations on any claim by its original owner or their heirs has expired. They also suggested that Argentina’s courts maintain custody of the painting until it can be determined who legally owns the piece.

Marei von Saher, Goudstikker’s daughter-in-law and only surviving heir, said she will take legal action to have the painting returned to her family.