Disappeared since 1941 – Monet’s masterpiece remained on descendants

Adalbert “Bela” Parlagi was a successful businessman and art lover in Vienna in the 1930s. But then the Nazis marched in and drove him and his family out of town and country. The Gestapo collected and auctioned off all its cultural treasures, including the statue “Bord de Mer” by the famous French impressionist Claude Monet. In 1941 the painting came into the hands of a Nazi art dealer, after which the trace was lost.

Nazi raid appeared in gallery
2023, more than eight decades later, appeared in a gallery in the American state of Texas. The FBI, the Central Security Authority of the United States, then began investigating. The owners voluntarily returned the photo at the time after speaking with FBI agents – they had no idea that “Bord de Mer” was a Nazi robbery.

Thanks to their cooperation, the researchers were now able to transfer the multimillion-dollar work to the heirs of the Parlagi family. Parlagis granddaughter Helen Lowe and Françoise Parlagi recently received the photo: “It is an honor to return this important work of art to its rightful owners,” explained FBI Director James Dennehy. The case emphasizes the importance of returning stolen cultural property. Other stolen works of art belonging to the Parlagi family, including a watercolor by Paul Signac, are missing.

However, in March the family received another work of art: a chalk drawing by the German composer Richard Wagner by Franz von Lenbach. A committee had found the work in the Albertina in Vienna.