Tate Britain to return Nazi-looted painting to Jewish collector’s heirs

Tate Britain is set to return a 17th-century painting to the heirs and great-grandchildren of a Jewish Belgian art collector, decades after it was looted by the Nazis during World War II.

The artwork, Aeneas and His Family Fleeing Burning Troy (1654) by Henry Gibbs, was seized from Samuel Hartveld’s home in Antwerp as an act of "racial persecution," according to the UK’s Spoliation Advisory Panel, which investigates claims related to Nazi-era looted art.

Inspired by Virgil’s "Aeneid" and thought to reflect on the English Civil War, it was then acquired by Tate in 1994 from Brussels’ Galerie Jan de Maere.

"It is a profound privilege to help reunite this work with its rightful heirs, and I am delighted to see the spoliation process working successfully to make this happen," says Maria Balshaw, the director of Tate.

She adds: "Although the artwork’s provenance was extensively investigated when it was acquired in 1994, crucial facts concerning previous ownership of the painting were not known."

Hartveld, a respected collector, was forced to flee Belgium in 1940 with his wife following the Nazi's invasion, leaving behind his cherished collection. While he survived the war, he was never reunited with his artworks, many of which are believed to be scattered across European galleries.

Last year, the Sonia Klein Trust, established by Hartveld’s heirs, launched a formal claim for the restitution of the painting. Following the UK’s Spoliation Advisory Panel's ruling for its return, the trustees expressed their "deep gratitude," calling the decision an important acknowledgment of "the awful Nazi persecution of Samuel Hartveld."