Jewish heirs seek to halt $180 million Van Gogh auction over alleged Nazi-era forced sale

Jewish heirs of the Fischer family are asking Sotheby's to halt the auction of a Van Gogh painting estimated at $180 million, arguing the 1936 sale was under Nazi duress. The painting, 'Blossoming Chestnut Trees,' was deposited with a dealer and sold to a Paris collector. The heirs' attorney cites the Reich flight tax and restricted emigration. Sotheby's says its research did not find a forced sale but is committed to engaging with the family.

The descendants of the Jewish former owners of a Vincent van Gogh painting are asking Sotheby's to pull the work from an auction scheduled for Wednesday night, arguing that their family sold it under duress from Nazi persecution in 1936. The painting, 'Châtaigniers en Fleurs' (Blossoming Chestnut Trees), was painted in 1890 and is expected to fetch around $180 million, which would be an auction record for a Van Gogh. Sotheby's has guaranteed the work, assuring the seller of a minimum price. The painting entered the Fischer family collection in 1909, when publisher Samuel Fischer bought it. After his death in 1934, his son-in-law Gottfried Bermann Fischer took over the publishing house. As the Nazis tightened their grip, many of the company's authors were banned, and Bermann Fischer left Berlin for Vienna. The family deposited the Van Gogh with art dealer Walter Feilchenfeldt, who sold it to a Paris collector in 1936. The heirs argue that Nazi restrictions on Jewish emigration and the Reich flight tax forced the sale. Attorney Gunnar Schnabel urged Sotheby's to prove the sale was at market value and not under pressure. Sotheby's acknowledged the claim but said its research did not establish a forced sale. The question of whether a sale outside Nazi-controlled territory can constitute persecution-related loss has arisen in other cases, including a 2021 Düsseldorf decision to return a Franz Marc painting. The Fischer family had previously raised similar concerns over a Cézanne sold in 1936.