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A Holocaust survivor whose family’s art collection was looted by the Nazis is transferring the title of a Camille Pissarro painting to the University of Oklahoma, giving up her long-running efforts to donate the painting to the Musée d’Orsay in Paris, where it is currently being exhibited, The New York Times reported. Oklahoma will receive the title to the painting, “La Bergère,” or “Shepherdess Bringing in Sheep,” under an agreement that says the painting will continue to be exhibited in both France and the United States.
Oklahoma does not intend to retain the title to the painting in the long term, and the university has committed per the terms of the agreement to transfer ownership to a French public institution or the U.S. Art in Embassies program.
Over years of negotiations, the university did not dispute that the painting was stolen by the Nazis during the occupation of France. But it did object to returning it, citing procedural issues and the statute of limitations. The university also provided evidence that the family who donated the painting to Oklahoma in 2000 had purchased it in a New York art gallery and acted in good faith.
