NEW YORK — The Jewish Museum of New York is exhibiting a Marc Chagall painting confiscated by Nazi-occupied Poland and returned last year to its owner’s family, who immediately put it up for auction. The exhibition will be open until 2023.
After a turbulent past, the oil on canvas of Chagall’s father, created by the Russian-born artist in 1911 after moving to Paris, sold at auction for $7.4 million in November last year.
David Cender, a Polish Jew who made violins, bought “The Father” in 1928. He had to abandon it when his family was transferred to the Lodz ghetto.
Cender was sent to Auschwitz, where his wife and daughter perished. He escaped and moved to France in 1958, where he remained until his death just over a decade later.
Sometime between 1947 and 1953, the painting reappeared in exhibitions, and Chagall surprisingly acquired it without understanding its history, as evidenced by Phillips and the French Ministry of Culture.
The French museums acquired “The Father” after the death of its creator, of Russian origin, in 1985. The Pompidou Center was in charge of guarding it until it could be permanently housed in the Museum of Jewish Art and History in Paris.
In early 2022, the French Parliament unanimously approved a measure to restore 15 works by Jewish families that the Nazis had stolen. Roselyne Bachelot, head of culture at the time, hailed the measure as a “first step” in the restitution of looted works of art and literature to their rightful owners.
The director of the Jewish Museum, Claudia Gould, expressed her gratitude and “honor” for the loan of the works.
In a statement, he called the widespread looting of works of art during World War II “one of the most dramatic episodes in 20th-century art,” adding that its effects can still be felt today. “It is crucial that the Jewish Museum share these accounts.”
The exhibition of “El Padre” will continue until January 1, 2024.
