California Defends New Law aimed at Returning Nazi-Looted Art in Pissarro Painting Case
California is actively defending a recently enacted law designed to aid Holocaust survivors and their families in recovering artwork stolen by the Nazis, currently embroiled in a legal battle over a Camille Pissarro painting held by the Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza in Spain. The case centers on the painting, originally owned by Lilly Cassirer, a Jewish woman forced to relinquish it under duress in Nazi-occupied Germany in 1939.
The painting resurfaced decades later as part of the Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection, amassed by the late Baron Hans Heinrich von Thyssen-Bornemisza, whose family had ties to the Hitler regime. Spain housed the collection in the Museo Nacional Thyssen-Bornemisza, established in a restored palace near the Prado Museum in madrid.
Claude Cassirer, Lilly’s grandson, first sought the painting’s return from the museum, but was refused. he subsequently filed a lawsuit in U.S. federal court in 2005, initiating a prolonged legal process. A 2023 ruling by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, applying an archaic Spanish law, initially sided with the museum, asserting that ownership legitimately transferred over time due to the museum’s lack of knowledge regarding the painting’s stolen origins.
Responding to this ruling, california passed a new law in September 2024, signed by Governor Gavin Newsom at a gathering with Holocaust survivor families. The law aims to override the application of the Spanish statute and establish that a thief cannot pass legitimate title to stolen art. David cassirer, Claude’s son and now the lead plaintiff in the case, lauded the legislation as a “definitive stand in favor of the true owners of stolen art.”
In March 2025, the Supreme Court instructed the 9th Circuit to reconsider its previous ruling in light of the new California law. The Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection subsequently filed a motion with the appellate court, arguing the California law is “constitutionally indefensible” and violates its due process rights. the museum contends that the law attempts to retroactively reopen settled claims and disrupt established legal precedent, and that the U.S. generally respects the property laws of foreign sovereigns.
David Cassirer countered that the California law aligns with both legal principles and “moral commitments made by the United States and governments worldwide” to Nazi victims. He argues the law mandates the painting’s return to his family as the rightful heirs.
Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel, the bill’s sponsor, praised california Attorney General Rob Bonta for defending the law, characterizing it as a crucial step in a long pursuit of justice and a commitment to “stand on the right side of history.”
