A watercolor painting by Vincent Van Gogh that was stolen by the Nazis from its Jewish owner during the Holocaust was sold at auction for $35,855,000 Thursday, breaking the record for the largest sum ever paid for a Van Gogh painting on paper at auction.
It had been purchased by Max Meirowsky, a German Jewish art collector, in 1913. When Meirowsky left Germany for Amsterdam in the face of growing antisemitism in 1938, he left the painting with an art dealer who sold it to Alexandrine de Rothschild of the famed banking family. When Rothschild left Germany for Switzerland, her art collection was seized by the Nazis.
The proceeds from Thursday’s sale are set to be split between Cox’s estate and the descendants of Meirowsky and Rothschild, according to the terms of a negotiation facilitated by the Christie’s auction house.