Authorities in Argentina have charged Patricia Kadgien with hiding a stolen masterpiece. This painting had been looted in World War II, and Kadgien is the daughter of an SS officer. The painting, “Portrait of a Lady,” is its name, and it represents an 18th-century masterpiece by the artist Giuseppe Ghislandi from Italy. It was alleged stolen from the fabulous trove of Dutch-Jewish art collector Jacques Goudstikker.
Jacques Goudstikker collected a significant number of works, including iconic pieces by masters like Rembrandt and Vermeer. Over the course of the war, he was forced to part with his prized inventory under extreme duress. Tragically, as he modeled for freedom, he lost his own life in a 1940 shipwreck attempting an escape from Nazi-occupied Netherlands. To this day, over 1,100 of these artworks from Goudstikker’s historic gallery still have no known or documented fate.
The case took an exciting turn when “Portrait of a Lady” was found in Kadgien’s apartment in Mar del Plata. The painting had been catalogued as missing in international databases focused on Nazi-looted art. It didn’t come into the public eye until some photos of the piece were included in an online advertisement for the property sale earlier this spring. Within one day, the ad was pulled in the face of increasing media scrutiny.
Police arrested Patricia Kadgien and her husband, Juan Carlos Cortegoso, and authorities have since put them under house arrest. Now, they are prosecuting the pair for helping to hide the painting. Federal prosecutors have charged Kadgien with several counts of concealing the artwork from law enforcement.
“It was only after several police raids that they turned it in.” – Prosecutor Carlos Martínez
Home security surveillance video caught these people tearing down an anti-racist “for sale” sign from the couple’s front yard. This crazy-thirsty-behavior immediately made us question what they were up to. Prosecutor Carlos Martínez further noted that Kadgien was “aware that the artwork was being sought by the criminal justice system and international authorities.”
We congratulate the Argentine court for this courageous ruling. They decreed that “Portrait of a Lady” be exhibited at the Holocaust Museum in Buenos Aires before any efforts to transfer it abroad can be contemplated. This unfortunate decision underscores the need for greater and more effective protections for all cultural heritage. It addresses the historical injustices associated with the theft of art during the war.
This new resurfacing of “Portrait of a Lady” serves as another reminder that the looted art saga continues. Yet it is an important and deeply moving reminder of the horrific losses suffered by families like Jacques Goudstikker’s at the hands of the Nazis, one of history’s most monstrous periods. The international community has been working diligently to establish norms around the restitution of stolen artworks. Unlike that case, this would be another significant step toward reconciliation and justice for victims of wartime art theft.
