Painting stolen by Nazis now on display in Minneapolis after return to artist's family

A tiny painting stolen by the Nazis more than 80 years ago has made its way to the Minneapolis Institute of Art.

The Details

The work by artist Albert Theer is only 2 by 3 inches, but it has quite the history.

"He made the decision to try to sell his entire art collection as a way of financing his family's escape from Austria," Galina Olmsted, a curator of European art, said.

That was in 1938, when the nazis imprisoned Jewish art collector Eduard Epstein and stole his collection. Decades later, the painting was discovered in a military museum in Vienna, Austria.

"And they began the sort of legal proceedings of restituting it or returning it to her and her family," Olmsted said.

The family includes Jackie Sondell of Wayzata, Minnesota, who has now loaned the painting to the Minneapolis Institute of Art.

"I feel that it should be in Minneapolis because it's very important to educate people," Sondell said.

Olmsted added, "There's a lot of books and movies about the Holocaust, about what happened in Nazi Germany, and in Austria and other parts of Europe. This gives us a real local story that makes it feel so much more immediate. And we feel very honored that Jackie chose to share her family's story and to make this work of art available to audiences who visit MIA."

Sitting front and center in MIA's Judaica gallery, the painting is catching much attention.

For Sondell, who lost three grandparents in the Holocaust, it's about more than getting something back.

"This little picture is, to me, like a miracle that it was sent 86 years later," she said.

The work is also a reminder of a history she hopes will never be repeated.

"None of this should ever happen to anyone, and I think this is a lesson in today's world to pay attention to," Sondell said.

The painting will remain on display at the Minneapolis Institute of Art through early May.