On 27 May, the Netherlands Restitutions Committee examined an application for the restitution of a painting to the heirs of Albert Stern and his wife Marie. The painting, an oil on canvas titled Odalisque (1920 – 1921) by Henri Matisse, has been part of the Stedelijk Museum’s collection since 1941 and in the possession of Amsterdam City Council. Research undertaken by the Commission for Looted Art in Europe and assessed by the Expert Centre Restitution allowed the Committee to come to the conclusion that the painting came from the collection of Albert and Marie Stern, with the sale of the painting in 1941 to the Stedelijk Museum having come about as a result of measures taken by the occupying forces against the Jewish population. As such, the Committee advised Amsterdam City Council to restitute the painting to the Sterns’ legal successors.

The Sterns’ art collection, of which Marie was considered the “driving force”, included paintings by artists such as Edvard Munch, Vincent van Gogh and Lovis Corinth. The painting in question, Odalisque, was acquired by the Sterns in 1930. Albert Stern, together with his business partner Julius Graumann and his brother Siegbert Stern, founded Textilhaus Graumann & Stern in 1888, with the company becoming one of the biggest manufacturers of women’s clothing by the end of the 19^th century.

Following the Nazis’ rise to power, the Sterns faced “unrelenting persecution” owing to the fact that they were Jewish, resulting in them making plans to emigrate. Albert Stern joined Marie and his family in the Netherlands in 1937. Many of the Sterns’ assets in both Germany and the Netherlands were expropriated by the Nazis, including their house in Berlin, the textiles company and their finances. Various attempts were made to flee the Netherlands, but they were ultimately futile.

In October 1940, Albert Stern wrote his will “against the backdrop of consistently unsuccessful attempts to emigrate, financial persecution and failing health.” The will, which shows Stern had lost almost all of his wealth, stated that furniture, household items and artworks were left to his wife, Marie. In 1944 the Sterns were deported to Westerbork transit camp, with Albert later being deported to Laufen Castle internment camp, where he subsequently died on 18 January 1945. In April 1945 Biberach internment camp, where Marie had been held, was liberated. She eventually settled in Manchester, where she remained until her death in April 1952.

Provenance of the Painting

A photograph of Odalisque in the 1921 Christmas edition of the art magazine Der Querschnitt suggests that the painting was held by Galerie Bernheim-Jeune in Paris at that time. Despite a lack of surviving records, it is possible that the Sterns bought the painting directly from Alfred Flechtheim, a significant dealer in modern art; two labels on the back of the painting referencing Flechtheim support this. Documentation shows that the painting was part of the 1930 exhibition, Matisse Braque Picasso – with Albert Stern being mentioned in the accompanying catalogue as one of the lenders.

A Museum document from May 1940 shows that Albert gave the Museum three works, including Odalisque, for safekeeping when the Nazis came to the Netherlands. At the end of this document, a note states the paintings were returned to the owner on 10 March 1941. Additionally, a separate document dated March 1941 records the return of the three paintings – noted as a van Gogh landscape, a Munch landscape and Matisse’s “Odaliske”. An invoice from 19 July 1941 shows that the Stedelijk Museum purchased the painting from Lieuwe Bangma, an associate of Stern, for 5,000 guilders. Shortly after, in August 1941, the Sterns had to leave their Amsterdam flat, where the painting could be seen in family photographs – suggesting it had been in their possession up until the moment it was sold to the Museum. A letter from Marie Stern dated 11 December 1945 listed her and Albert’s possessions, referring to several forced sales and noting that their Matisse was in the Stedelijk Museum. Post-war statements further corroborate their ownership of the painting.

Since its purchase in 1941, the painting has been an “uninterrupted” part of the Museum’s collection. The 2015 exhibition catalogue The Stedelijk Museum and the Second World War suggests there was a level of ambiguity surrounding the provenance of the painting, with it being indicated that the work should perhaps be classified as a forced sale.

Assessment of the Application

As per the requirements set out in the assessment framework, it was necessary for the Committee to assess whether it was “highly plausible” that the painting was in Albert Stern’s possession and whether it was “sufficiently plausible” that he lost the painting involuntarily as a result of “circumstances directly related to the Nazi regime”. Documentation found during the course of this investigation suggests that Albert Stern was indeed the painting’s owner before the Nazis came to power in 1933. The Committee has established that the painting in question and two others belonged to the Sterns and were given to the Museum for safekeeping. Whilst documentation referring to the sale of the painting only mention Lieuwe Bangma, the Committee formed the opinion that this was because Bangma, who was not Jewish and was a Dutch national, had free access to his bank accounts – unlike the Sterns, who faced financial and material expropriation. As such, the Committee found it was highly likely that the painting belonged to Albert Stern at the time of the sale to the Museum in 1941, thus meeting the ownership requirement of the assessment framework.

Turning to the question of whether it was sufficiently plausible that Albert Stern lost the painting due to circumstances linked to the Nazi regime, it is important to note the underlying principle that a sale by any private Jewish individual after 10 May 1940 will be considered as involuntary – unless the facts suggest otherwise. In this instance, the Committee considered it clear that the sale of the painting was directly connected to actions taken by the Nazis against Jewish members of the population. Letters between family members during the war and post-war statements further corroborate this. Thus, the Restitutions Committee advised that Odalisque by Matisse be restituted to the heirs of Albert and Marie Stern.

Image Credits:

Henri Matisse, Odalisque, 1920-21 © Succession Henri Matisse, c/o Pictoright Amsterdam/Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam.