A painting by Henri Matisse, “Odalisque” has been at the centre of a controversy between the heirs of Paul Rosenberg and the Museum of Seattle.
Stolen during the war, the painting was donated by the Bloedel family to the museum after it had acquired it from the Knoedler Gallery in 1954. If the Museum was forced to hand the painting back it would probably enact a legal action against the gallery.
The painting was identified by the heirs of art dealer Paul Rosenberg thanks to the book “Le Musée disparu” (The lost Museum) written by Hector Feliciano in which many Jewish-owned works of art were listed. The heirs of Paul Rosenberg approached the Seattle Museum of Art for its restitution and the museum refused to satisfy their demand as long as the Knoedler gallery was not ready to cooperate.
Knoedler claimed that the painting had belonged to the Matisse family whereas museum officials said he knew in fact that it had been stolen from Paul Rosenberg. The museum now faces a legal imbroglio as counsels for Knoedler retorted that there was no article providing for a lawsuit against the gallery since it had played no direct role in the donation.
The painting was sold to the Bloedels for some US $ 18,000 in 1954 and is now worth millions and the Museum intends to ask for some substantial compensation in case it will have to surrender this work to the heirs of Rosenberg.
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