A Federal Appeals Court in San Francisco has reinvigorated a Jewish family’s efforts to recover a multi-million dollar painting looted by the Nazis now hanging in a Spanish museum. 
The painting, known as Rue Saint-Honoré, Après-midi, Effet de Pluie, is valued in the tens of millions of dollars and originally belonged to Lilly Cassirer, who sold the work to a Nazi for less than $400 as part of a deal to receive the paperwork necessary to flee Germany.
Spanish courts have previously shot down restitution efforts by Cassirer’s heirs. While all parties to the dispute, including the museum where the painting is displayed, have agreed that it was looted, that does not translate into agreement that its return is necessary.
Representatives of the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum have asserted that since they purchased the work in good faith, they should not have to return it, though art publication Artsy has noted that it may have been purchased for less than half of its valuation, a clear sign something was not right.
According to Artsy, "Monday’s ruling by the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals found that while Spanish law does apply, a trial is required to determine whether or not the museum knew the painting was stolen."
