Heirs of German Jewish banker and art collector Paul von Mendelssohn-Bartholdy have urged the US Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago to revive their lawsuit seeking the return of Vincent van Gogh's *Sunflowers* (1888), which they claim was sold under Nazi duress. The lawsuit, filed in 2022 against Japanese insurer Sompo Holdings, argues that the painting was purchased at a 1987 Christie's auction by Sompo's predecessor, Yasuda, despite provenance indicating Mendelssohn-Bartholdy was a Nazi victim. A lower court dismissed the case in 2024 for lack of jurisdiction, but the heirs contend that the painting's exhibition in Chicago in 2001 establishes sufficient legal ties to Illinois.
This case matters because it tests the reach of the Holocaust Expropriated Art Recovery (HEAR) Act of 2016, which was designed to facilitate the return of Nazi-looted art. The outcome could set a precedent for how U.S. courts handle restitution claims involving artworks sold under coercion during the Nazi era, especially when the works were later displayed in American museums. The dispute also highlights ongoing tensions between the moral imperatives of the Terezin Declaration and the legal complexities of jurisdiction and non-binding international agreements.