NEW ORLEANS — The FBI on Wednesday returned an original Monet work that was presumed lost to Nazi looters for more than 80 years to the descendants of its rightful owner.
“Bor de Mer”, or “Seaside” in English, is a pastel painting on 18-3/8 x 22-3/8 inch paper depicting the beaches of Normandy, France. Believed to have been completed in 1865, this work was one of Monet's earliest works and influenced the oil paintings of his later illustrious career.
The FBI's art crime team, working with the New York and New Orleans field offices, returned the Monet to Helen Lowe and Françoise Parradis of Louisiana, the surviving granddaughters of Adalbert and Hilda Parradis at the FBI Field Office in New Orleans.
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Ultimately, the issue was decided by Judge Fallon in the Eastern District of Louisiana, giving descendants of “Bor de Mer” legal rights after Dr. and Mrs. Kevin Schlumpf “respectfully” waived their rights to the work. was given.
“We are gathered here today to announce an act of kindness,” said Special Agent in Charge Lionel Mircil at the repatriation ceremony.
“Bor de Mer” will be on public display for the first time Wednesday at the FBI field office in New Orleans after the Nazis looted Monet's work during World War II. (Kat Ramirez, Fox News Digital)
The Schlumpfs bought the Bor de Mer from New Orleans art and antiques dealer MS Rau in 2021, unaware that it was looted during World War II. Unfortunately, Kevin Schlumpf passed away before he could attend the repatriation ceremony on Wednesday.
Adalbert and Hilda Parlage, who first purchased Monet's original works in Vienna for their family's private collection, were forced to flee Nazi-occupied Austria in 1938 after the Anschluss incident.
“As a Jew, [the Parlagis] “They were scared of what was going to happen to them,” British Prime Minister Anne Webber, co-chair of the Commission for Looted Art in Europe (CLAE), told Fox News Digital. Switzerland and eventually London. ”
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According to Weber, the Parlaghi family's Vienna apartment and all the art inside was seized by the German Gestapo after they fled to England.
“But the Nazis had other ideas, and what they did was seize the property, confiscate it in 1940, and put it up for sale in 1941 and 1942,” Weber said. Ta.
For more than 80 years, Adalberto “Bella” Parlaghi and his surviving descendants have held out hope that the Impressionist master's early works will be discovered somewhere. Adalbert died in 1981, decades before he saw the Bor de Mer returned to his grandchildren.
Adalbert “Bella” Parlage's granddaughters pose next to their grandfather Monet's painting “Bor de Mer” in New Orleans on Wednesday. (Kat Ramirez, Fox News Digital)
In 2014, Helen Lowe and Françoise Parradi approached CLAE to help track down this rare piece of art.
According to CLAE's website, CLAE is “an international expert, nonprofit representative agency that investigates, identifies, and recovers stolen property on behalf of families, communities, institutions, and governments around the world.”
Former Special Agent Randy Deaton said the FBI's Art Crimes Team, a national unit of 21 agents, “always needs help from expert historians and museums” to compile investigations. “There is,” he said.
“It takes a team,” Deaton told FOX News Digital.
Monet's early work, “Bor de Mer,'' circa 1865, depicts a beach near Saint-Andres, Normandy, France. (Kat Ramirez, Fox News Digital)
The detailed investigation provided by CLAE to the FBI helped authorities track Monet's painting to the MS Lau property in New Orleans, where it had been purchased by the Schlump family. Mrs. Schlumpf told Fox News Digital that “we were shocked” when the true source of “Bor de Mer” was revealed.
”[Kevin] I would have been very proud to see this work returned to its rightful owner today,” Mrs. Schlumpf told FOX News Digital.
“There are a lot of people who buy works in good faith without knowing the history of the work,” Weber said. “And once you learn the history, and you learn the horrific history of this case, that the families of the confiscated works ran for their lives and were then lucky to be able to agree to have the works returned. It's a great, great gesture for a family that has missed that for years. ”
Adalberto “Bella” Parlage's granddaughters expressed their gratitude and admiration after receiving their grandfather Monet's painting “Bor de Mer” in New Orleans on Wednesday. (Kat Ramirez, Fox News Digital)
Meanwhile, Palraj's surviving granddaughters are “overjoyed” over the discovery and return of their grandfather's Monet work.
“Even a few years ago, I would never have believed that we would be in this situation. It's all unbelievable. And all I can say is that my grandfather It's just that it was, it was, it wasn't.' No one believed it, so it's very special,” Françoise Paragis told FOX News Digital.
“I've been thinking about it a lot since I came to New Orleans. I was thinking about my mother and what would have happened to her,” Helen Lowe told FOX News Digital. “I think she knew that she would have been completely freaked out about this whole thing and would have been in disbelief. I feel like it's very close at the moment. ”
Mr. Weber, Mr. Lowe and Mr. Palagi will receive a private tour of the National World War II Museum in New Orleans late Wednesday afternoon.
Lionel Mircil, the special agent in charge, said the ball de mer was kept “securely stored” in an evidence locker at the FBI's New Orleans field office during the investigation. It's unclear when or where the painting will be shipped, as it legally belongs to Lowe and Palagi.
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The story “began in 1938 with a shipping container from a warehouse in Vienna to this room in New Orleans today,” Weber said.
