Nazi-looted painting depicting Jewish life in 19th-century Warsaw returned to Poland

The 19th-century painting ‘Jewish woman selling oranges’ by the prominent Polish artist Aleksander Gierymski which was looted during World War II when the country was occupied by Nazi Germany has been returned to Poland after being withdrawn from an auction in Germany. Poland's Culture Ministry negotiated the return of the painting with a German citizen in whose possession the painting was.

The oil-on-canvas, one of several works Gierymski produced showing Jewish life in one of the Polish capital’s poor districts, is believed to have been stolen from the National Museum in Warsaw in 1944. National Museum Director Agnieszka Morawinska described the artifact as a "priceless masterpiece" that pleased the painter, who was otherwise rarely content with his own work. Its return was a "very special day and a true gift for the museum," she said.