In 1933, Jewish industrialist Richard Semmel sold four paintings at auction under duress as a result of Nazi persecution.  Now, the Dutch Restitutions Committee, which can give binding opinions in matters of disputed art, has rejected claims by Semmel’s heirs for three of the four paintings.

Although the Netherlands was one of the 44 governments that endorsed the 1998 Washington Conference Principles on Nazi-Confiscated Art (which also apply to art sold under duress), and while the Committee acknowledges the circumstances of their sale, it said that the heirs’ interest in two of the paintings “carries less weight” than that of the museums.

The claimants are the granddaughters of Grete Gross-Eisenstaedt, an old family friend and Semmel’s companion after the death of his wife. Semmel had no children and left his estate to Gross-Eisenstaedt.  The Restitutions Committee said in an email statement: “These grandchildren are not related to Richard Semmel, never knew him and have no recollections of the paintings.”

A third painting, Maerten Fransz van der Hulst’s River View with Mooring, sold under the same circumstances as the other three, should be returned to Semmel’s heirs by the Groninger Museum, the Committee decided.  The Committee’s main reason for supporting restitution of this painting was “that the museum has little or no interest in the painting, probably because it does not fit in with its collection.”

The Committee ruled that the fourth painting, “Dune Landscape with Deer Hunt” by Gerrit Claesz, should remain in the collection of the Frans Hals Museum in Haarlem because of a lack of evidence that Semmel owned it.

Semmel’s heirs are exploring ways to challenge the opinion in a Dutch court.  Unfortunately, however, because they are not biologically related to Semmel and because the Restitution Committee determined that the museums’ interest in the paintings is more significant than theirs, they likely face an uphill battle.