UK museum to return painting looted by Nazis to Jewish art collector's heirs
The Tate
Britain gallery is set to reunite the great-grandchildren of a Belgian Jewish art collector with a painting looted from his home by the Nazis, officials said on Saturday.
Advertisement
Aeneas and his Family Fleeing Burning Troy was stolen from the home of Samuel Hartveld after he fled Antwerp with his wife in May 1940.
The artwork by English painter Henry Gibbs was one of hundreds of thousands the Nazis plundered from Jewish families during World War II.
Their restitution has been a slow process, often involving legal battles and complex international searches.
The return of the 1654 oil painting will mark the latest triumph for a special panel set up by the UK government to investigate such works that have ended up in Britain's public collections.
Advertisement
The Spoliation Advisory Panel ruled the Aeneas painting was 'looted as an act of racial persecution' and has arranged for it to be returned to Hartveld's heirs in the coming months, the UK government's culture department said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RTHK
7 days ago
- RTHK
Colorado attack suspect faces hate crime charges
Colorado attack suspect faces hate crime charges Police released a mug shot of the suspect Mohamed Sabry Soliman. Photo: Boulder Police Department The man suspected of a Molotov cocktail attack on Jewish protesters in Colorado was facing federal hate crime charges on Monday, with the government saying he was in the United States illegally. Mohamed Sabry Soliman is alleged to have thrown Molotov cocktails and sprayed burning gasoline in Boulder on Sunday at a gathering in support of Israeli hostages held by the Hamas armed group. Eight people were hurt in the attack -- four men and four women -- with the oldest reportedly being 88 years old. FBI agent Mark Michalek said the suspect used "a makeshift flamethrower" and "was heard to yell: 'Free Palestine,'" during the incident. An FBI affidavit said Soliman had been planning the assault for a year. "He stated that he wanted to kill all Zionist people and wished they were all dead," the affidavit says. "He hated this group and needed to stop them from taking over 'our land,' which he explained to be Palestine." Agents said they had found at least 14 unused Molotov cocktails and a backpack weed sprayer containing gasoline. US Homeland Security officials said he was in the country illegally, having overstayed a tourist visa, but that he had applied for asylum in September 2022. (AFP)
RTHK
23-05-2025
- RTHK
Suspect charged over killings of Israeli embassy staff
Suspect charged over killings of Israeli embassy staff A court artist's sketch shows Elias Rodriguez in court. File photo: Reuters The suspect accused of gunning down two Israeli embassy staffers outside a Jewish museum in Washington has been charged with murder, as international tensions over anti-Semitism erupted over the attack. Elias Rodriguez, 31, shouted "Free Palestine" as he was taken away by police after the shooting late on Wednesday outside the Capital Jewish Museum. "I did it for Palestine, I did it for Gaza," he told the officers. The Chicago man made an initial court appearance on Thursday after being charged with two counts of first-degree murder and murder of foreign officials. If convicted, he could receive the death penalty. Authorities were investigating the shooting "as an act of terrorism and as a hate crime", Jeanine Pirro, interim US attorney for the District of Columbia, said. "I suspect as we go forward... that there will be more charges added," she said, noting that a preliminary hearing was set for June 18. The shooting triggered international outrage and finger-pointing as Israel's foreign minister Gideon Saar blamed European criticism of his country's stepped-up Gaza offensive, claiming "a direct line connecting anti-Semitic and anti-Israeli incitement to this murder". "This incitement is also done by leaders and officials of many countries and international organizations, especially from Europe," he said. French foreign ministry spokesman Christophe Lemoine called the accusation "completely outrageous and completely unjustified". Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cited "the terrible price of anti-Semitism" and decried "wild incitement against the State of Israel". Soon after the shooting, President Donald Trump – who spoke with Netanyahu on Thursday – posted on social media that the attack was clearly anti-Semitic. The killings took place outside the Capital Jewish Museum, located 1.6 kilometres from the White House, following a social event hosted by the American Jewish Committee for young Jewish professionals and the Washington diplomatic community. Israel identified the victims as Yaron Lischinsky, an Israeli citizen, and Sarah Lynn Milgrim, a US employee of the embassy, and said they were a couple planning to marry. The attack came days after the museum was awarded a grant to boost security, as anti-Semitism surges worldwide in the wake of Israel's devastating invasion of Gaza, prompted by the October 7, 2023, attack by Palestinian militant group Hamas. Tensions have risen in the United States and many other countries over the ongoing Israeli assault on Gaza, with pro-Palestinian activists decrying what they say is the intolerable human cost of the military offensive. Britain and France – who have stepped up their criticism of Israel's actions – were among those condemning the shooting, as well as Germany and the United Arab Emirates. But Netanyahu on Thursday accused France, Britain and Canada of emboldening militants, saying "they want Israel to stand down and accept that Hamas's army of mass murderers will survive, rebuild and repeat the October 7 massacre". Police said Rodriguez was seen pacing outside the museum before the shooting around 9 pm. According to court documents, Rodriguez approached his victims, who were facing away from him, and fired 21 rounds. He shot multiple times at the couple after they were already on the ground and fired at Milgram as she tried to crawl away. Witnesses said security personnel at first mistook the gunman for a victim of the shooting and allowed him into the museum, where he was initially comforted by bystanders. "They sat him down. 'Are you OK? Were you shot? What happened?' And he's like 'Somebody call the cops'," Yoni Kalin, who was in the museum, told US media. Lischinsky was a researcher at the Israeli embassy, while Milgrim worked for its public diplomacy department, according to their LinkedIn profiles. (AFP)
RTHK
22-05-2025
- RTHK
Two Israeli embassy staff shot dead in Washington
Two Israeli embassy staff shot dead in Washington An ambulance and police vehicles line a street where two Israeli embassy staff were shot dead near the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington. Photo: Reuters Two Israeli embassy staff have been killed in a shooting outside an event at the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, DC, according to officials and media reports. A man and a woman were shot and killed on Wednesday night in the area of 3rd and F streets in Northwest which is near the museum, an FBI field office and the US attorney's office, according to the reports. "Two Israeli embassy staff were senselessly killed tonight near the Jewish Museum in Washington DC," Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem wrote in a post on X. FBI director Kash Patel said he and his team had been briefed on the shooting. "While we're working with [Metropolitan Police Department] to respond and learn more, in the immediate, please pray for the victims and their families," he wrote on X. Danny Danon, Israel's ambassador to the United Nations, called the shooting "a depraved act of anti-Semitic terrorism". "Harming diplomats and the Jewish community is crossing a red line," Danon said in a post on X. "We are confident that the US authorities will take strong action against those responsible for this criminal act." Attorney General Pam Bondi and US Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro were at the scene of the shooting. (Reuters)
