California Attorney General Rob Bonta has re-entered a decades-long legal battle over a Camille Pissarro painting, *Rue Saint-Honoré in the Afternoon, Effect of Rain* (1897), which was sold under duress by Lilly Cassirer Neubauer to a Nazi appraiser in 1939 for 900 Reichsmarks. The painting is now held by the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza in Madrid. The case, originally filed in 2000 by Neubauer's son Claude Cassirer, has been continued by his heir David Cassirer, Ava's estate, and the United Jewish Federation of San Diego County. A new California law signed by Governor Gavin Newsom in September allows exceptions for property taken due to political persecution, and Bonta is now defending the state's authority to compel the return of stolen art to victims connected to California.
This case matters because it tests the limits of U.S. state law against foreign sovereign immunity, with the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum arguing it legally owns the painting. The Ninth Circuit previously overturned a Supreme Court ruling that California law should apply, creating a legal tug-of-war. The outcome could set a precedent for Holocaust-era restitution claims, affecting hundreds of artworks in U.S. and European museums. Bonta's involvement signals California's commitment to using its legal tools to address historical injustices, even as international legal hurdles remain.