Charlotte Bischoff van Heemskerck spent years looking for the painting because it held special significance for her, having once hung in her family’s dining room right behind her chair.
Family of Mrs Charlotte Bischoff van HeemskerckCharlotte Bischoff van Heemskerck with the house painting that the Nazis steal from her familiy .
When Charlotte Bischoff van Heemskerck was a new girl in the Netherlands in the 1930s , her folk had a painting by a Dutch master hanging on the rampart of their family home . Then , Nazis stole the painting during World War II — but now , it has finally been returned .
“ I was so glad to see the painting again , which always hung behind my electric chair in the dining elbow room , ” Bischoff van Heemskerck said in a statement as reported byArtnet .
Family of Mrs Charlotte Bischoff van HeemskerckCharlotte Bischoff van Heemskerck with the painting that the Nazis stole from her familiy.
“ We all missed this picture very much because it was so much part of our daily life sentence . It is a beautiful painting , beautifully paint , with its insidious combination of colouring on the wonderful coat and the aspect on the face of the sitter which show him to be a generous man , an telling man . ”
fit in toThe Guardian , the 1683 “ Portrait of Steven Wolters ” by Caspar Netscher , a Dutch Old Master , hung on the wall of Bischoff van Heemskerck ’s home in the metropolis of Arnhem . The painting belong to her Father-God , a MD and the manager of the urban center ’s children ’s hospital , who have a go at it to collect nontextual matter .
But when the Nazis invaded the Netherlands in the 1940s , Bischoff van Heemskerck ’s father put 14 of his paintings in the Amsterdam Bank in Arnhem . He hop-skip the bank building would keep the paintings secure , but in 1945 all 14 were steal by Nazis . According to theTimes , they were probably looted by a former Hitler Youth leader named Helmut Temmler who organized a last - minute bank looting and blow up the vault .
Sotheby’sThe 1683 “Portrait of Steven Wolters” by Dutch master by Caspar Netscher. Wolters was a merchant, director, and secretary of the Levant Trading Company.
Sotheby’sThe 1683 “ Portrait of Steven Wolters ” by Dutch master by Caspar Netscher . Wolters was a merchant , theater director , and secretary of the Levant Trading Company .
After WWII ended , Smithsonian Magazinereports , Dutch authorities were able to find just eight of Bischoff van Heemskerck ’s father ’s paintings . The other six , including the portrait of Steven Wolters by Caspar Netscher , had vanished .
But the Commission for Looted Art in Europe , a nonprofit that helps track down steal artwork , was on the lawsuit . They determined that the painting had somehow passed from Nazi hands to the Galerie Peiffer in Düsseldorf in the mid-1950s . Then , it went up for auction in Amsterdam in 1969 before a private collector buy it in 1971 .
Sotheby’sThe painting is expected to fetch between £30,000 to £50,000 at auction.
The Commission for Looted Art in Europe negociate with the collector , who agreed to return the painting to Bischoff van Heemskerck , now 101 years honest-to-god .
“ I was stunned , ” Bischoff van Heemskerck toldThe Guardian , bring that her don , who give way in 1969 , would have been “ so happy that it come back . ”
However , Bischoff van Heemskerck does n’t plan to keep the painting . She ’s decide to deal it through Sotheby ’s and give the payoff to her family .
“ I had five brothers and sister , ” Bischoff van Heemskerck explained toThe Guardian . “ There are 20 materialisation and they are very sweet , so I never had the feeling that it was mine . It ’s from the family . ”
Sotheby’sThe house painting is expect to bring between £ 30,000 to £ 50,000 at auction .
The stolen portrait also belongs to a fascinating chapter in World War II history . After the Nazis invaded the Netherlands in 1940 , Bischoff van Heemskerck ’s forefather — like many Dutch citizen — refuse to obey the Nazi ’s orders and went into hiding .
Bischoff van Heemskerck , who joined the resistance as a courier , call up SS ship’s officer coming to their home after her don had fled . “ My father was almost arrested by the secret constabulary of the Germans , ” she excuse toThe Guardian . “ I opened the door when they came for him . They were so furious … we had to go away in the nighttime , we took what we could . ”
As for her involvement in the electrical resistance , Bischoff van Heemskerck toldThe Guardianshe just did what anyone else would have done . “ You would have done too , I ’m sure , ” she state . “ We were hop that we would win the warfare and we did everything to help . ”
Her class ’s house painting will go up for auction on July 6 and is expected to get between £ 30,000 to £ 50,000 .
After read about the Nazi - looted painting that ’s been hark back to its rightful owner , see howa stolen Willem de Kooning paintingended up in a New Mexico couple ’s home plate . Or , key out the inspiring story of Dutch resistance memberCorrie ten Boom .
